February 26, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Royce O’Neill (00) celebrates with guard Colin Gillespie (12) during the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Image The Phoenix Suns have exceeded expectations through the first three quarters of the season.
It is now important that we continue to excel throughout the season.
The Suns resume four days without a game when they visit the hapless Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
“We’re now in March,” Phoenix coach Jordan Ott said Monday. “These games mean more and more. This is a big week for us.”
After traveling to Sacramento, the Suns return home to play the Chicago Bulls (Thursday), New Orleans Pelicans (Friday) and Charlotte Hornets (Sunday).
Phoenix is a solid eight games above .500 and sits in seventh place in the Western Conference with 22 games remaining.
The Suns remain that way despite a slump in which they have lost six of their last eight games. They posted back-to-back scoring outputs of 77 and 81 points while playing without their top two players in Devin Booker (right hip) and Dylan Brooks (broken left hand).
But things turned around last Thursday when Royce O’Neill hit a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left to give Phoenix a 113-110 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Grayson Allen (28 points) and Colin Gillespie (21 points) each made six 3-pointers for the Suns.
Booker has missed four straight games, but is getting closer to returning.
“There are no setbacks and there is continuous progress,” Ott said. “He seems to be in a good spot.”
Ott said Booker’s leadership has played a big role in Phoenix’s success this season.
“It speaks to our resilience and overall strength,” Ott said. “It’s what our leader leads. It’s his ability to lead every moment he’s in the building. Every time the second book is here, we feel his presence.”
The Suns are also looking to complete a four-game season sweep of the Kings. Phoenix won 112-100 at Sacramento on Nov. 26 and also won at home by 4-27.
The Kings are 2-2 after suffering a franchise-worst 16-game losing streak.
Sacramento finished 2-3 on the road with a 128-104 win over the Lakers on Sunday.
First-round pick Nique Clifford had 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, his second-highest scorer of the season. He scored 30 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 7.
“I’m proud to see him continue to grow as a young player,” Kings coach Doug Christie said after the game. “If you look at what he can do out there, he goes downhill. He shoots 3-pointers, he handles the basketball, he makes plays, he rebounds the basketball. I love it.”
Clifford has scored in double figures in four straight games, starting the last two, and with the Kings owning the worst record in the NBA, his playing time is expected to increase the rest of the year.
Another factor is that starting small forward Keegan Murray suffered the same ankle injury that caused him to miss 20 games. He suffered another injury in his fourth game back and it is unclear how long he will be out this time. Murray is scheduled to miss his third straight game on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Clifford has started 12 of 58 games and is averaging 7.3 points and 3.3 rebounds. His field shooting success rate is only 40.7%.
Clifford was pinching himself just before tipoff on Sunday, about to start the game with Lakers legend LeBron James standing just a few feet away.
“This is crazy.” Clifford said. “You grow up watching them. LeBron was probably in the league before I was even born, so to play against him now is crazy, and to still be doing what he’s doing at that age is very impressive. Being on the same floor makes me feel like I belong, but it’s really cool to be around people in that category.”
–Field level media
