Phoenix Suns reunite starters, finish preseason 4-2

Paul Coro, azcentral sports
Oct 21, 2016: Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) during a preseason NBA game at Honda Center.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Suns caught the closest glimpse of what their team might look like this season Friday night when everyone but P.J. Tucker was available for the preseason finale.

The window into the Suns season had cloudy and stormy moments but finished with a ray of sunshine – a 4-2 record.

The opponent was only the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the few teams tabbed to be worse than the Suns. Phoenix made 21 turnovers and did not shoot well from the field (39 percent), 3-point line (28 percent) or free-throw line (64 percent), but the Suns’ overall activity was strong enough to close the preseason with a 98-94 victory at Honda Center.

“I don’t care where we play,” Suns coach Earl Watson said. “We want to win. I don’t care if it’s a pickup, at the park, preseason. There’s no such thing as wasting our time or wasting our energy. We’re giving our fans something to proud of and go out there and compete.”

Phoenix Suns passing into fast preseason pace

Five days before the season opener against Sacramento, the Suns had their healthiest lineup since the Oct. 3 preseason opener and treated the game like a dress rehearsal. Center Tyson Chandler and Alex Len split minutes evenly while the other starters each played 29 or more minutes with sixth man Brandon Knight getting 27 minutes in a 10-man rotation.

The starting unit, which will be Wednesday’s starters, had not played together except for 18 minutes on Oct. 3 but all finished with positive plus-minus ratings and closed the game’s final five minutes together except for late-game maneuvers.

The second unit had an 11-0 fourth-quarter run with Leandro Barbosa scoring six of the points. Len was the Suns’ leading scorer with 16 points, albeit on 6-of-16 shooting, with nine rebounds and two blocks.

“We’re just trying to find each other and build that chemistry,” Len said.

BOX SCORE:Suns 98, Lakers 94

Knight was aggressive for 14 points and five assists, as was T.J. Warren for 15 points and eight rebounds. The Suns went big at times with Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss and Len together and small at others with Knight, Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker playing together for spurts.

“We have a unique roster,” Watson said. “These young guys need experience. The more experience they can get, the better. Our point guards and our backcourt continue to play aggressive but, at the same time, learn the pace of when to go, when not to go, when to pass, when to shoot and when to just slow it down.”

The Lakers were sloppier and also shot 39 percent from the field but the Suns will head into four days of regular season preparation more concerned about how the Lakers were not the ones even prompting many of the Suns’ turnovers.

“We’re still learning identities, a good shot from a great shot, defensively,” Suns power forward Jared Dudley said. “Overall, we took a step forward of digging in and taking a step forward. But with this young team, it’s going to be baby steps of style of play, mental mistakes, turnovers, good shots. That’s something that has to grow through the season.

“Our whole thing is don’t make the same mistakes twice. I thought we did that a lot. Forcing passes. Just chemistry. Guys aren’t used to playing with certain guys.”

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With the Suns leading 91-90, Dudley made a key 3-pointer coming out of a time out but the Suns still had to sweat the final seconds when Chandler fouled Julius Randle on a driving hook with the Suns leading 96-94 and 5.3 seconds remaining. Randle missed both free throws.

The Lakers shot 39.1 percent with the Suns handling the perimeter particularly well. D’Angelo Russell, Lou Williams and Nick Young made nine of 31 shots.

“The only competition is ourselves,” Watson said. “Stay together, play together. Play the game. It’s an easy game. Make the easy pass, easy shot. If not, pass it, move it, drive it.”

Reach Paul Coro atpaul.coro@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-2470. Follow him at twitter.com/paulcoro.