Communication and hard work have paid off for the Phoenix Suns. Players like Cameron Payne (left) and Cameron Johnson tried their best to block out the noise and focus on winning. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan / Getty Images) PHOENIX – Road trips can be exhausting or exciting, terrible or wonderful. You can bring athletes together and drive them apart. The last trip of the Phoenix Suns could not have gone better. “That’s all we’re talking about, man. Make a good trip a great trip, ”said Sun Guard Devin Booker. “Anytime you can get more than .500 or more on a road trip this is a big time, and when you can do it obviously there’s nothing like that.” That’s the momentum the suns bring to the Footprint Center tonight, when they host the Dallas Mavericks. After the Suns went 3-0 and set their winning streak to nine, the club’s longest in over a decade, the Suns can hit their 10-game streak from March 14 to April 2, 2010. Since then, New Jersey has grown from the Nets to the Brooklyn Nets, the New Orleans Hornets to the New Orleans Pelicans and the Charlotte Bobcats to the Charlotte Hornets. After the 10-3 Suns stumbled out of the gates with just one win in their first four games of the season, they now occupy second place in the Western Conference, behind the revived Golden State Warriors with 11-2. The Last Suns defeat came to the Sacramento Kings on October 27, a 110-107 thriller at the Footprint Center that sent Phoenix fans home dejected. The Suns were 12 points clear towards the end of the first half but a 29-15 third quarter brought the Kings back and they were 13 point ahead with only 5:40 to go in the fourth quarter. A furious comeback from Booker and Mikal Bridges helped the Suns keep the game at 107-107, but Kings striker Harrison Barnes buried the catch-and-shoot three on the left wing to steal the win from overtime . After the defeat, Sun’s center Deandre Ayton shared his disappointment with their game together. It was early, but a slow start wasn’t on the team’s agenda. “We played a little with our food,” said Ayton. “The third quarter was unprofessional, we weren’t. We were only one step behind them. “They played hard and got a lot of 50/50 balls. Also in this third quarter there were many offensive rebounds, shots from the second chance and many 3s. They just felt really good, they didn’t feel us at all. ”His disappointment carried over to the offensive. Related story “I think we just don’t share the ball,” said Ayton. “We’re a team that shares the ball, moves the ball. We’re trying to get at least 30 assists. This is Sun’s basketball. ”Ayton’s criticism was well founded. The Suns only accumulated 23 assists against the Kings that night and dwarfed 30 assists only once in their first four games, 31 in their win over the Los Angeles Lakers. During their current winning streak, the Sonnen have won the assist fight every night, recording over 25 assists seven times. But the team only hit 30 once in the winning streak, with 32 assists in a 112-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Defense has also improved, keeping opponents below 40% when shooting from the field in four of the nine wins and over 45% from the field in seven of the nine wins. Coach Monty Williams praised the team’s improved defensive efforts throughout the series. “It’s an integral part of our program,” said Williams. While the streak started with four home wins, the opportunity for the next three games couldn’t have come at a better time. The team got away from some of the noise surrounding Suns owner Robert Sarver and the NBA investigation that came out of an ESPN report claiming that Sarver’s tenure at the club was marked by racism and misogyny, resulting in one toxic work environment. “We’re just locked up,” said Suns striker Jae Crowder. “It’s easy to get distracted.” “We only take it one day at a time, you can’t look too far ahead, you can’t look too far back either … Coach does a good job of keeping our head where it needs to be.” The team showed tremendous mental strength during the streak, answering questions about Sarver and the ongoing investigation, while figuring out how to win without the Suns Starting Center. Ayton was in and out of the lineup during the streak, missing out on six team wins as he recovered from a bruise to his right lower leg. Ayton made a strong return to the field in Monday’s 99-96 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring his fourth straight double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. Booker led the Suns with 29 points, converting 13 of 15 attempts from the free-throw line, while “The Point God” Chris Paul scored 21 points and eight assists. In a gruff, highly competitive game where both teams shot below 40%, the Suns were able to focus on fourth and convert in the clutch. Five and 40 behind, the Suns went on a 16-8 run to defeat the Timberwolves, with Booker and Paul scoring five and seven points respectively along the way. Although it’s still early in the season, these accomplishments illustrate the difference between a good team and a great team. The Suns show an extra focus required to beat the best, and no one at the Suns knows that better than JaVale McGee, a three-time NBA champion. “I saw us get bogged down in the fourth quarter and be extremely focused when it came to the little things in the game,” said McGee. “We’re just trying to stay focused and do it as a team, not just lay on one person’s back. I feel like we’ve got glimpses of the greatness from a lot of different people in this nine game winning streak, so it just shows the world that the Phoenix Suns are ‘the one’ as a team ”and stressed the importance of it is to continue the momentum. “It is good energy for us to move forward. When we return home we’ll have tough opponents, Dallas twice and Denver coming to our home arena, ”Booker said, referring to the club’s closest opponents. “So we’re locked up.” Follow Cronkite News: Phoenix Sports on Twitter.
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