Devin Booker scored 36 points in three quarters, and Phoenix outscored Memphis 40-16 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 131-105 win Monday night at FedExForum.
The Memphis Grizzlies led as late as midway through the third quarter Monday night. Then came 22 turnovers, a 40-point fourth quarter from Phoenix, and a 131-105 loss at FedExForum that wasn't particularly close by the end.
Devin Booker scored 36 points on 16-of-24 shooting (66.7%) through three quarters, then banked in a deep step-back at the buzzer to end the third-quarter to give the Suns a two-point lead they would not surrender. GG Jackson opened the fourth with a dunk that tied the game at 91, but Rasheer Fleming grabbed an offensive rebound and converted the putback with 11:14 left to play. Phoenix never looked back from that point on.
Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo described the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as the game's turning point.
"We turned it over a lot," Iisalo said. "Turned it over three times in the first two and a half minutes. Gave up offensive boards, gave up transition baskets. Overall, I think they finished with 34 more field goal attempts. Very difficult to win in that way."
Oso Ighodaro followed up Fleming's go-ahead bucket with a dunk, and Collin Gillespie sank a 3-pointer and a jumper before Jordan Goodwin stole a pass and fed Ryan Dunn for a fast-break dunk that pushed it to an 11-0 run. Goodwin and Fleming knocked down 3-pointers 21 seconds apart to make it 108-95 with 6:59 left, and Memphis was down by double figures for the rest of the game.
With the Grizzlies playing without so many key players, Jahmai Mashack logged 37 minutes and drew the primary assignment on Booker.
"We thought he was a good matchup for Booker," Iisalo said. "The strength that Shaq has is that you can throw him at any possible position, offense or defense. He knows all of them and always contributes."
Booker still dropped 36 points in three quarters before Phoenix pulled away and sat its starters. Iisalo felt the team competed in individual matchups, but left the door open when asked if more could have been done.
"I certainly thought so in those one-on-one situations," Iisalo said. "But you can obviously put a second body on him, and we did that in some situations. You can always go back and think about if you could have done more."
The Grizzlies deployed a guard-heavy rotation but still couldn't protect the ball, an issue Iisalo tied to the risks that come with their offensive style.
"To get into high-value areas, getting dribble penetration always comes with a bigger risk of turnovers," Iisalo said. "You see some of the teams that have the least amount of penetration in the league having low turnover numbers, so that's inherent to it. I thought we were a little sloppy with our passing, and there were some forced entries, which we don't usually do, along with some errant passes."
Jalen Green added 21 points for Phoenix. Gillespie scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 assists. Fleming and Ighodaro each chipped in 11. The Suns shot 50.5% from the field (55-of-109), knocked down 17 3-pointers on 37.8% shooting from deep, and went 4-of-8 at the free throw line.
Tyler Burton led Memphis with 17 points off the bench. Cam Spencer scored 16, and Jackson and Mashack each added 14. The Grizzlies shot 50.7% from the field (38-of-75) and made 90.0% of their free throws (18-of-20), but the turnover deficit handed Phoenix a field goal attempt advantage Memphis never recovered from.
The Grizzlies had looked capable of pulling off an upset through three quarters, climbing back from a 65-61 halftime deficit to take a 79-78 lead on Burton's running dunk in the third. The lead changed hands repeatedly before Booker's bank shot from 29 feet with 0.2 seconds remaining sent Phoenix into the fourth up 91-89.
The Grizzlies return to action on Wednesday when they host the New York Knicks.