Kevin Durant takes on all comers, Bol Bol's role: What we learned in Suns' win over Bucks

This shouldn’t be surprising, but perhaps expected of the Phoenix Suns' Big 3.

Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal grilled a combined 85 points in Tuesday’s 114-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center.

Booker scored a team-high 32, Durant delivered 28 and Beal went for 25 as they each churned out 16 points in the second half.

The Suns (30-21) now are 13-7 with their Big 3 as Booker, Durant and Beal have played 16 straight games together.

They each took 20-plus shots Tuesday, something that has a high probability of happening in the playoffs. This game had a postseason feel, but the Bucks (33-18) were a bit shorthanded.

No Damian Lillard. Out with a left ankle sprain. No Khris Middleton. Suffered a left ankle sprain landing on Durant’s foot taking a jump shot in the first quarter, didn’t return.

Doc Rivers is still trying to figure things out, but the Bucks still had Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The two-time NBA MVP posted a game-high 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists, but he turned it over five times as another all-time great who is six years older embraced the mighty defensive challenge.

Kevin Wayne Durant. Clarification. The 35-year-old in his 17^th NBA season Durant, who posterized Antetokounmpo with a one-handed driving jam in the fourth quarter.

After being plagued with injuries for most of this season, the Suns are healthy and starting to look more like a quality team, but the trade deadline is Thursday. Is a change going to come?

“If there is opportunities to improve your team, this is the time to explore them at the most,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said before Tuesday's game. “I think we’re definitely doing that. (Suns General Manager) James Jones and the front office are doing their due diligence in seeing what’s out there, but we’re also remaining very confident in what we have.”

Here’s what we learned Tuesday as the Suns pulled out this win after a 14-day, seven-game road trip, their longest of the season.

Staying put or making a move?

The Suns have certainly been exploring the trade market for weeks with the pursuit of Hornets forward Miles Bridges drawing the most attention.

It just seems a given a team that’s looking to win a championship will make a move, but the Suns do have limited assets and are strapped financially.

Those looking to read into Vogel’s comments might want to reconsider that.

Now, what Booker said after the game? Feel free to dig in and dissect.

“I believe in everybody in here, even the guys who aren’t playing,” he said.

The Suns seem to have bonded during their fantastic voyage out East.

“Fun road trip, fun road trip,” a smiling Durant said after Sunday’s win at Washington to end the marathon run at 4-3. “I mean, we lost some games, but we got tighter as a group. We got to know each other on a personal level.”

The Suns only have one injured player in Damion Lee (knee), who hasn’t played all season. They’ve come out of the other side of a rough start feeling good about where they are.

All those signs point to it keeping the group intact, but Mat Ishbia showed in his first year as a team owner he’s not one to sit idle. He’s constantly looking to improve the roster. So, don’t be surprised if the Suns make a move, but if someone is brought in, that player must understand this team has an identity, growing chemistry and likely won’t allow anyone new to mess up all of that.

Defensive Durant

Now let’s be clear about something.

Antetokounmpo still scored 34 points as he repeatedly freight-trained his way to the rim, but Durant made him work for his points when checking him. Durant is the team's best overall defensive player.

Not sure it's a good thing for someone his age, who is asked to do so much on offense, to be taking on such defensive assignments, but that speaks to his desire to do whatever it takes to win.

More than a scorer, folks. More than a scorer. Durant looked to take away the driving space from Antetokounmpo to avoid “a mini fast break in the half court.”

See, Antetokounmpo drives with such force that even if you know the spin move is coming, you can’t stop it, especially if you’re already in retreat or backpedal mode. Durant tried to meet him higher to help neutralize the drive and it proved to be effective enough. The Suns tried to build that wall to deter Antetokounmpo from going end-to-end full court, too.

Antetokounmpo is this generation’s Shaquille O’Neal in terms of being unstoppable around the basket. Like the Hall of Famer and four-time NBA champion, Antetokounmpo draws fouls, attempts a ton of free throws and misses more than his share, too.

He’s second in the league in free throw attempts per game at 11.3. Only reigning MVP Joel Embiid is averaging more FTAs at 11.9. Antetokounmpo attempted 13 on Tuesday, but only made seven in shooting 53.8%, which is below his average of 65.9%.

It’s a problem, but one Antetokounmpo has shown over the course of his career the ability to overcome. The one sure way to lessen his impact on the game is getting him in foul trouble. Antetokounmpo committed five fouls Tuesday. He still played 39 minutes, nearly four more than his season average, but not as aggressive due to being in foul trouble.

There’s no one way to stop him, but someone willing to take on the challenge of guarding him like Durant did and forcing him to foul are two ways to try to nullify Antetokounmpo.

That’s easier said than done, though.

Bol Bol’s role

He’s been a fan favorite since entering the league in 2019 out of Oregon.

Crowds, be it home or away, can’t get enough of this guy. He’s a 7-footer who can handle, shoot the 3, block shots and make insane plays. Suns fans lost it seeing Bol Bol’s crazy scoop shot off a baseline drive. The video has probably gone viral, but the Suns are looking beyond the Bol highlights.

They want to see if he can be a steady contributor, not just a 10-second clip.

Bol is healthy after missing nine games with a right foot sprain. He’s back in the rotation and Vogel went with a lineup that features a frontcourt of Durant, Bol and either Jusuf Nurkic or Drew Eubanks. This was part of Vogel’s game plan to help defend Antetokounmpo. Bol wound up playing 17 minutes as he soaked up some of Josh Okogie’s usual time in the game.

Vogel said he saw “some good, some bad” with that look. Probably saw Antetokounmpo getting by Bol for layups and dunks as he’s just stronger and quicker, but the Suns are intrigued by Bol’s potential with this group.

They’ve been harping on him to play within himself. You can see that when he’s passing up shots and looking to make a play for a teammate. He tried to find Jusuf Nurkic inside with a bounce pass. The play resulted in a turnover, but the fact that he’s seeing that opportunity is a sign of growth.

As impressive as that driving layup was, Bol’s chase-down block of AJ Green's corner 3, in which he ran the length of the court to get a piece of the shot with his left hand, was his best play of the night. For a 7-footer to turn up like that and make a play on the ball? Impressive.

Durant said the goal for Bol now is consistent, solid play. Will the Suns let him play through mistakes to see if he can do that or look elsewhere if he underperforms in consecutive games? Now that’s their challenge.

Another faulty fourth quarter?

The Suns at least outscored the Bucks in the fourth, 35-33, after being outscored in the final quarter in their previous six games.

Beal’s deep 3-point shot from 29 feet out with the shot clock expiring to give the Suns a 110-99 lead with 45.1 seconds left was part of a familiar shaky stretch of play in the fourth.

Durant and Nurkic each had turnovers prior to that that helped the Bucks pull within eight points with 1:37 left after trailing by 15 just a little more than 90 seconds earlier. Phoenix committed six turnovers in the fourth, resulting in eight Milwaukee points.

Again, shaky, but they did attack the pressure better after that and got a Durant dunk out of it to push the lead back up to double digits, 112-110 with 22.1 seconds left.

Attack. That’s what Vogel wants the Suns to do against pressure, but they’re not doing that as often as he’d probably like.

Durant had 14 points in the fourth while Booker didn't score at all on just two shot attempts. Seems odd, but also part of having three prolific scorers.

Still a work in progress in the fourth, but an improvement from the collapse Phoenix has had in trying to close out games.

Miles Bridges trade rumors: Pros, cons of deal for Suns, other teams before NBA deadline

Up next: Final matchup against Jazz

The Suns are 3-0 against Utah (26-26), but they haven’t faced each other since November for a back-to-back in Salt Lake City. The Jazz were 4-9 after that double-overtime loss in the second of the back-to-back. They’ve gone 22-17 since. The teams meet again at 7 p.m. Thursday at Footprint Center.

Utah is coming off consecutive home wins against Milwaukee, 123-108, Sunday and Oklahoma City, 124-117, Tuesday. Lauri Markkanen cranked out 33 points and 11 boards to lead the Jazz over OKC as Utah had six players reach double figures.

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: Kevin Durant takes on Giannis Antetokounmpo, posterizes him in Suns win