Suns backup centers Biyombo, Landale stepped up big in Ayton's absence to rout Pelicans

Deandre Ayton only needed to say three motivational words — "pick me up" — to backup centers Jock Landale and Bismack Biyombo before their solid performances that helped the Suns beat New Orleans 124-111 Friday night.

"He said, ‘Make sure you carry this team through the five spot. I think he said that to 'Bisy' (Biyombo) as well," Landale told the Republic about Ayton's message to them when he left the game in the first quarter with a left ankle sprain.

"So we both did a great job just making sure that we were ready to kind of take the reins when he got injured in the middle of the game.”

Ayton (four points, three rebounds in eight minutes) was replaced by Landale at the 4:18 mark, and missed the rest of the game.

Suns coach Monty Williams said after the game there was no timetable for Ayton's return.

Biyombo and Landale made crucial frontcourt offensive and defensive plays to help drive the Suns' second unit to a stellar performance. Biyombo scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, had a game-high 13 rebounds and added two assists and two blocks; Landale scored eight points with two rebounds, two assists and a block.

They were major contributors along with backup stretch-four Torrey Craig and point guard Cameron Payne off the Suns' bench, which outscored the Pelicans' second unit 54-21. The backup bigs helped the Suns score 60 points in the paint, and they had 22 transition points.

“That’s who we want to be," Williams said after the game. "It may not be that number on a night in night out basis, but we try to. We trying to generate more possessions with the offensive rebounding and I thought Torrey was phenomenal setting the tone in the first half.

"He just kept going and going and he got a couple of them and had a follow up dunk, got a rebound put back. I thought it gave us a lot of life and then the way that they were playing in the pick and roll, it gave Bis and Jock a chance to finish."

Craig was a perfect 6-for-6 shooting and scored 13 points (10 in the paint) with six rebounds, and Payne chipped in 12 points.

Biyombo and Landale were solid playmakers in the paint on high screens and rolls, freeing up perimeter shooting and helping initiate Suns guard penetration.

“They just play with aggression. Sometimes you think of aggression, you’re just jacking up shots but I thought the screening was at a high level with Jock and Bis," Williams said.

Biyombo held his own against Pelicans big Jonas Valanciunas (25 points, 10 rebounds), who the Suns struggled to keep off the glass during their first-round playoff series. The Suns won in six games, but the Pelicans outrebounded them 274-214.

It was a reversal of fortune on Friday, as the Suns snared more boards, 47-33. The Phoenix-to-New Orleans ratio was 33-24 on defensive rebounds and 14-9 on offense.

. Landale didn't find his shooting rhythm in the first half (0-for-3), and only played about five minutes in the second.

Biyombo stepped up early and led all players with seven rebounds in the first half, including six on defense. Valanciunas only had three defensive boards in the first half.

“It’s just playing hard," Biyombo said about rebounding. "Obviously, Valanciunas and I have a history. We have played together (for the Toronto Raptors in 2015-16). We’re friends over the course of the years, but I think that’s just being part of being a student of the game. ...

"I think I also just enjoy playing against great players because they challenge you to play at a certain level, and that’s where you want to be really.”

Valanciunas entered the game tied for the NBA's fifth-best rebounding average (11.5 per game) and was third-best in offensive rebounds (4.5). Biyombo and the Suns held him to just three offensive rebounds, and Biyombo's nine defensive rebounds minimized the Pelicans' second-chance points after he entered at 7:03 in the second quarter and didn't get subbed out until 3:48 in the third.

“Bisy was rolling, so that was a smart adjustment by the coaches to put him in. I was struggling in that first half and found it in the second," Landale said. “He was doing a great job defending Valanciunas, and he's a load, so I think when you put someone stronger like Bisy on him I think that really helps us as a team defensively.”

The Suns went ahead 80-78 with four minutes left in the third quarter and never relinquished the lead.

They went on a 14-0 run for the next three minutes, including Landale's bucket on an assist from Payne to extend the lead to 82-78, and Landale's alley-oop dunk passed by Landry Shamet pushed it to 91-80.

Then Biyombo and Landale had three dunks between them in the fourth as the Suns and their uptempo pace pulled away from the Pelicans.

“You can’t constantly rely on your first unit because at the end of the day you need your second unit to be at a certain level in order for you to win a championship," Biyombo said.

"I think that’s one of the biggest emphasis that Coach (Williams) has put on us, how can we get the second unit to play as fast and understanding the plays, and what can we implement into our game that can allow us to play faster."

Have tips for us? Reach the reporter at dana.scott@azcentral.com or at 480-486-4721. Follow his Twitter @iam_DanaScott.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns backup centers Biyombo, Landale step up big after Ayton's injury