Phoenix didn’t look like one of the NBA’s top teams during its three-game skid back in January.

Granted,  All-Star Devin Booker was out for the latter two games as he suffered a hamstring injury in an overtime loss to Denver, but the Suns were 8-8 at the time.

They have lost a total of four games since with the last one coming Saturday to Indiana, but the Suns responded with a 23-point victory Monday over Memphis.

“When we were coming out before the game, we were saying we don’t want to lose two in a row,” Booker said. “So that’s just the mindset of just responding. Having an off game and understanding there is room for improvement and you can never get comfortable.”

Hard to figure out what’s more impressive during this stretch.

Winning 18 of their last 22 games or not losing two consecutive games?

They’re both one in the same, but avoiding back-to-back losses over the course of 22 games is very difficult.

Winning can become contagious, but how one responds to losses reveals character.

The Suns (26-12) are showing plenty of that.

“We’ve got a really good team,” Suns All-Star Chris Paul said. “A really good team and we’ve got all the pieces that you need.” 

With the NBA’s third-best record behind Utah (28-10) and Philadelphia (27-12), two teams they’ve beaten, it’s not a stretch to say the Suns may be the NBA’s top team right now.

They’ve also beaten the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Granted the Lakers were without All-Star Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and Kyle Kuzma, but Phoenix closed out a LeBron James-led team with Booker missing most of the second half after receiving two quick technical fouls and getting ejected.

While the Indiana loss showed they’re still flawed, the response win over Memphis is an indication of what they can do. Here’s a look back at Monday’s 122-99 victory and ahead to back-to-back home games against Minnesota, which has the NBA’s worst record.

Player of Monday’s game: Devin Booker

The game-high 27 points is nothing new for him.

Shooting 10-of-19 from the field is about right as he’s shooting 49.8% from the field.

The two turnovers is a change for the better after having five in Thursday’s win at Portland and six in Saturday’s loss to the Pacers. 

Booker is averaging a concerning 3.4 turnovers a game.

On the one hand, that’s fewer than what Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zach Lavine, Luka Doncic, James Harden and James average.

On the other hand, Phoenix is 26th in the league in pace. The Suns place higher value on possessions. So they can’t just give them away with turnovers.

Just check the turnovers in three of their last four losses.

• at Pelicans: 15 (led to 17 New Orleans points). Booker turnovers: 3.
• vs. Hornets: 14 (led to 18 Charlotte points). Booker turnovers: 5.
• vs. Pacers: 16 (led to 19 Pacers points). Booker turnovers: 6.

They only had six turnovers in their 128-124 loss to Brooklyn. The Suns yielded just five points off those turnovers and Booker had only two turnovers, but they blew a 22-point, second-half lead to the Nets, who were without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Paul is highly critical of himself for any turnover he commits despite averaging just 2.4 to 8.8 assists a game. Since Paul and Booker handle the ball the majority of the time, how they take care of it will greatly determine how well Phoenix plays the rest of the season.

‘Us three’

The connection between Paul, Booker and Suns coach Monty Williams is crucial here.

During the first half of Monday’s win, Williams pulled Booker and Paul aside coming out of a timeout for a quick talk. 

Paul doesn’t remember what was exactly said at that moment, but noted they make a concerted effort to “keep that dialogue going” throughout the game.

“It’s a lot of basketball IQ within us three,” Paul said. “None of us do this alone. If you see me all game long, I’m always looking over to Coach Mont like, give me a play, give me a play. It’s a team so we always feed off each other.” 

Phoenix shares the ball, as evidenced by being tied for second in the league in assists with Charlotte at 27.2, but Paul and Booker account for a combined 13.4 of those dimes.

So better chemistry between this All-Star backcourt and Williams can only lead to better play for Phoenix.

“Having two players like that who can get their own shot, but they play that way within our system and they let their talents show within everything that we teach them,” Williams said. “I’m sure they want me to sit down and stop calling plays, but I see things, they see stuff and hopefully, we’re continuing to build this partnership between us three as to what we see on the floor. To be able to give the ball to those two guys, it’s not something I take for granted.”

Staying within close range

The Suns are just two games behind Utah in the West going into Tuesday’s games as the Jazz (28-10) play at Boston to start at four-game run out East.

They’ll face Washington, Toronto and Chicago, three teams with losing records, before returning home to take on Brooklyn next week. Utah will likely maintain that edge in the standings, but Phoenix can put pressure on the Jazz with two wins against Minnesota.

Got to feel for Ricky Rubio.

He came to Phoenix last season looking to play a major role turning this franchise around. He helped the Suns establish a culture in Williams’ first season and connected with teammates only to be dealt to Oklahoma City in the Paul trade.

Rubio ended up back where his NBA career began in Minnesota after another trade. 

It was a feel-good story.

Reuniting with his former team and friend in head coach Ryan Saunders and being the veteran looking to help a young, talented team contend for a play-in spot.

What if

Then everything crumbled around him.

Injuries. Saunders got fired.

Karl-Anthony Towns had a bout with COVID-19.

Malik Beasley received a 12-game suspension without pay after pleading guilty to a felony charge.

The honeymoon homecoming has turned into an ongoing nightmare for Rubio.

Now he’ll make play his first game in Phoenix since the trade. He’s already faced the Suns this season as Minnesota lost at home, 118-99, to Phoenix last month.  

Just for the sake of argument, where would Phoenix be had Suns General Manager James Jones stayed pat with Rubio and a healthy Kelly Oubre Jr. 

The Suns would be in playoff contention. Not top four in the West, but in that seven to 10 play-in range. They had major momentum coming off their 8-0 bubble run.

That’s all hindsight 20/20.

Phoenix is rolling with Paul while Rubio is in Minnesota part of a disastrous season.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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