What we learned: Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns deliver in fourth, stage epic comeback win over Kings

The Phoenix Suns had no business winning Tuesday night, but as Kevin Durant said afterward, “hell yeah” they’ll gladly take it.

Down by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter, the Suns closed on a frenetic 32-8 run to pull out an insane 119-117 victory over Sacramento before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center.

A decent number of fans left early. They had reasons to bail.

They saw bad defense, the Big 3 misfiring and a lack of energy, but those who stayed witnessed an epic comeback in which the Suns went small and outscored the Kings, 23-4, in the game’s final five minutes to mark their largest comeback of the season.

Durant’s two free throws with 1.7 seconds left after being fouled by De’Aaron Fox put Phoenix (22-18) ahead for good as Malik Monk missed a 3 at the buzzer following a Sacramento timeout that advanced the ball.

Grayson Allen scored a team-high 29 points, going 9-of-14 again from 3 as he did against Miami to tie his own career high and franchise record again for deep makes in a game.

Durant came to life in the fourth, getting 15 of his 27 points in the quarter as he played all the game's final 12 minutes.

Devin Booker posted a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists and Bradley Beal added 13 points as the Suns are 5-4 with their Big 3 in the lineup. But Eric Gordon proved to be the unsung hero.

Checking into the game with 5:11 left to give the Suns a lineup with five guys able to cash 3s and switch on defense, Gordon hit two clutch 3s with the latter tying the game, 115-115, with 45.4 seconds left.

Booker, Beal, Gordon, Allen and Durant have played in just three games together, but they’ve scored 38 points on 12-of-18 shooting overall, gone 5-of-8 from 3 and generated a plus-16.

Not sure how sustainable this lineup is moving forward defensively, but that coaching move by Frank Vogel ultimately won the game.

Here’s what we learned as the Suns have won three in a row after a 1-3 stretch in which they lost to the Clippers twice and short-handed Memphis.

‘We won a fourth quarter – finally”

Allen said after the game what everyone was thinking.

Phoenix was the team this time that rallied to win a game in the fourth after losing their share this season by wilting in the game’s final 12 minutes.

The Suns outscored the Kings, 35-21, in the fourth fueled by Vogel deciding to go small with the hope they’d take advantage of Sacramento All-Star big Domantas Sabonis having to defend that.

The move worked. Sabonis kept getting caught out of place on defense.

Figured Gordon would be in Phoenix’s closing lineup before the season started because he can make 3s, but more importantly, is fearless in taking them.

Having the Big 3 out there was a given, but whoever saw Allen this much of a factor when the Suns acquired him in that three-team trade right before training camp should have played the lottery and be somewhere warm and tropical counting millions with the ocean tickling their toes.

Allen has not only been the best player the Suns acquired in the trade as he came over from the Bucks, but the shooting guard out of Duke is also one of their best players, period.

He can hit 3s, drive it and compete on defense.

He’s gone from shouldering the "dirty player" label upon arrival in Phoenix to becoming a fan favorite.

Still gives up buckets and goes into the lane without a flight plan, but his competitive nature along with elite shooting makes him a valuable player for the Suns.

Without his 23 points going into the fourth, the Suns are down even more because the Big 3 were struggling. Allen was 8-of-15 from the field, hitting 7-of-12 from 3 through three quarters.

Booker, Durant and Beal were a combined 12-of-33 for 37 points, hitting just 2-of-9 from 3.

Defense still a problem

The Suns may have pulled it out going small as Durant did a number on Sabonis in limiting him to five points in the fourth.

He didn’t allow him to play quarterback and pick apart their defense. Sabonis still posted a triple double of 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the game, but none of those assists came in the fourth.

Durant got into his air space and played him physical enough to draw a foul on Sabonis on a rebound that led to two free throws to put Phoenix up, 115-113, with 29.9 seconds remaining.

However, you don’t fall behind by 22 points by accident.

The Kings were on the final leg of a five-game road trip that started Jan. 9 in Detroit and spanned three different time zones – and they were running the Suns out of their own arena.

Maybe their legs got tired, because for the most part, the Kings were getting whatever they wanted.

Fox scored a game-high 33 points. The Kings shot 18-of-40 from 3 for the game, had six players reach double figures and scored 25 points off 20 Suns turnovers.

The Suns weren’t defending the 3 nor the paint, weren’t getting back on defense and hand delivering turnovers without requiring a signature like FedEx as Durant had seven turnovers by himself.

Phoenix’s comeback did include stops and deflections. The Suns nearly had to play perfect on both ends to win – and did so – but their defense digressed some more.

They knew how the Kings played with pace after dropping their first two matchups against them – and still weren’t getting back.

They knew the Kings hoisted 3s as Sacramento is third in the league in 3-point attempts at 40.7 – and continually gave up open ones

They also knew in today’s NBA, this was still a winnable game because of the 3-point shot.

Phoenix shot 7-of-11 from deep in the fourth and got just enough defense down the stretch to win.

Injury update

Bol Bol missed a second straight game with a right foot sprain after just returning last week at the Lakers following a two-game absence with a right ankle sprain suffered against Miami.

“We’re still doing more evaluation on that,” Vogel said before Tuesday’s game. “We should have more info (Wednesday).”

Vogel said the Suns hope this isn’t long-term for Bol, who has been playing well since given extended minutes.

Yuta Watanabe was a late scratch due to illness. Damion Lee has been out all season with right knee injury.

Up next: Back on the road Friday at New Orleans

Friday will be Phoenix’s first matchup against the Pelicans (24-17), who are coming off a 125-120 loss Monday at Dallas on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Zion Williamson paced New Orleans with 30 points while Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined to score more than half of the Mavericks' points in cooking for 42 and 41, respectively.

The Pelicans are sixth in the West, but just 1½ games ahead of the Suns, who are eighth.

New Orleans hosts Charlotte (8-29), losers of its last five games, Wednesday before facing Phoenix two days later.

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 go small with Kevin Durant on Domantas Sabonis, stun Kings in comeback