Bradley Beal explodes for 43, beats former team: What we learned from Suns' 7-game road trip

WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal’s return to Washington D.C. served as a reminder of what he used to do for the Wizards and what he’s capable of delivering for the Phoenix Suns.

Beal scored 26 of his season-high 43 points in the first half in leading the Suns to a comfortable 140-112 victory before a crowd of 16,984 at Capital One Arena to cap a seven-game road trip.

The three-time All-Star received a tribute video, warm reception and proceeded to break out of his shooting slump with a vintage performance of scoring on all three levels — and had fun with it.

After a steal and jam to put Phoenix up up 51-39 with 9:21 left in half, Beal turned and stared at the crowd with a smirk as the Wizards called a timeout.

Oh yeah, Beal enjoyed himself on a Sunday afternoon in a city he spent 11 seasons leaving a lasting mark upon. Beal connected on 16-of-21 field goals, going 4-of-5 on 3s and added six assists in just 31 minutes of work.

The Suns (29-21) didn’t dominate this season-long trip like they desired, but closed it with a dominant performance over the lowly Wizards (9-40) to finish 4-3 on the trip.

Here’s what we learned from the seven games overall as the Suns are fully healthy with the exception of Damion Lee (knee), who hasn't played all season. Phoenix hopes he returns by the end of the regular season.

Still struggling to close games

Phoenix was outscored in the fourth quarter of six of the seven road games.

• At Dallas (W) – 32-31.

• At Indiana (L) – 17-28.

• At Orlando (L) – 13-31.

• At Miami (W) – 18-31.

• At Brooklyn (W) – 30-33.

• At Atlanta (L) – 25-29

• At Washington (W) – 24-26.

The Suns have yet to figure out a consistent way to handle opponents when they dial up the pressure, especially when there’s a raised level of physicality. They want to attack the pressure and look to score instead of just worrying about crossing the half-court line with possession.

This coincides with their turnover problems. The Suns coughed up 118 turnovers on the seven-game road trip with 41 coming in the fourth quarter.

Against the Wizards, a team they led by as many as 32 points, the Suns committed 10 turnovers in the fourth that led to nine Washington points. A better opponent would've made those final 12 minutes far more interesting.

Having a main ball handler would theoretically help, but the spacing is usually not there whenever they struggle to break the pressure.

Then once in the half-court, the Suns tend to go ISO, a recipe that works when whoever has the ball is hot, but it also puts pressure on that person to make a play as opposed to everyone being involved.

They grew closer together on the trip

Kevin Durant said after Sunday’s game he felt the Suns could’ve gone undefeated on the trip, but believes they came together on it.

"Fun trip for sure," he said with a smile.

Declining get into specifics on how fun it was, with a smile, Durant did say between being around each other for two weeks, the long plane rides and sharing stories, the Suns got closer through it all.

This could be a turning point in terms of an emotional connection. The already new-look roster may very well change at the trade deadline, but right now, the locker room has a good vibe.

Specifically, the Big 3 of Devin Booker, Durant and Beal have now played 19 games together. The Suns are 12-7 in those games, but they’ve played 15 consecutive games with those three.

The latter number is more important at this point than the actual record with those three. The more games they can share the court, the better for the Suns.

Beal can overcome adversity, adjust

He’s faced criticism that began with him not being available due to injuries, to being inconsistent with his shot to going stone cold from the field after having his nose broken against the Pacers.

Even ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins questioned Beal’s body language in a game against the Nets, saying he looked frustrated.

Through all of that, Beal has maintained as positive an attitude as one can and responded with his best offensive performance of the season Sunday against his former team.

Beal has had to make the most adjustments of the Big 3. He’s initiating offense instead of finishing plays, but Beal showed Sunday why getting buckets is high on his list of job qualifications to play in the NBA.

In short, Beal has put whatever ego he had in Washington and put it check to enough of a degree to make this work. You don't become a great player without having confidence, but Beal sees the bigger picture, understands his role and how it can change from game to game.

How Beal plays this balancing act on offense and defends against some of the league's best perimeter players moving forward will factor into how the Suns continue to grow and improve. Beal isn't an All-Star this season like Booker and Durant, but he has to play like one for the Suns in terms of doing what is required to seriously contend for a championship.

Small-ball lineup option, not a go-to?

The Suns are already a small team when starting Grayson Allen at the three.

They get even smaller when Eric Gordon comes in the game to form that small-ball lineup with those two and the Big 3.

Having that crazy comeback against the Kings with five guys who can cash 3s had everyone thinking, oh, they can close games with this unit.

Then they've gotten beat up on the glass time and time again with that unit.

So Suns coach Frank Vogel has decided to mix it up a bit. He’s playing Keita Bates-Diop off the bench to give them more size. Josh Okogie has worked his way back into rotation and while he’s essentially the same height as Allen, Okogie is more athletic and bigger physically.

Then there’s Bol Bol, who saw action for the first time since a right foot sprain sidelined him last month and resulted in him missing nine games before dressing out for a game.

The 7-footer with guard skills draws oohs, aaahs and oh my goodness with whatever he does, but his ability to get his hands on the ball on offense to create extra possessions and defense to change possessions for the opponent excites Vogel.

Up next: Back home Tuesday against Milwaukee

The Bucks now have a new head coach — Doc Rivers — but still have perhaps the NBA’s best duo in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

Milwaukee (33-17) has the second-best record in the East and split its last two games. The Bucks won, 129-117, Saturday at Dallas as Antetokounmpo exploded for 48 points and 10 boards while Lillard went for 30, but lost Sunday at Utah, 123-108.

They are 1-3 on this five-game road trip that ends Tuesday against the Suns. This will be the first Suns-Bucks matchup this season as Cameron Payne will play his first game against his former team since the offseason trade last summer.

Milwaukee also has Jae Crowder, who started on the 2021 finals team and the 2021-22 squad that set a franchise record for wins. Crowder got the start against the Jazz and finished with just six points on 2-of-10 shooting (2-of-7 on 3s).

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns cap marathon road trip with Bradley Beal cooking former team