New Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach on playing with the team
Center Khaman Maluach talks about playing with the Phoenix Suns during a Summer League post-game interview July 11, 2025.
The Phoenix Suns concluded their fifth and final game in NBA Summer League play with a 111-87 victory on July 19 over the Portland Trail Blazers at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
The Suns (2-3) snapped a three-game skid in beating the Blazers (3-2).
Khalif Battle scored a game-high 21 points and Boogie Ellis went for 19 to lead the Suns.
Two-way signee CJ Huntley delivered 18 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks, Alex Schumacher chipped in 16 points and six assists and Brandon Angel added 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Suns shot 42.4% from 3 and scored 31 points off 20 Portland turnovers. Phoenix elected to rest Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro and rookies Khaman Maluach and Koby Brea.
Here are three takeaways from the win as Phoenix led by as many as 28 points.
Suns takeover in second quarter
The Suns went on an impressive 22-0 run in the second quarter to take a 10-point halftime lead after trailing by as many as 10 in the second quarter.
Ellis scored 12 of his 19 points in the second quarter, going 4-of-4 from 3.
Resting key guys
The Suns were able to win convincingly without their starting lineup to open summer league play of point guard Yuri Collins, Dunn, Ighodaro, Maluach and Brea. Collins also didn’t play.
Having Dunn and Ighodaro rest makes sense. They played in Vegas last year, logged significant minutes as rookies for Phoenix and showed this summer what a difference a year makes.
Ighodaro played four games while Dunn saw action in three. Dunn appeared to hurt his left ankle or foot in Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota and played through it in the fourth.
No need to risk further damage in Vegas. He’s a potential starter this season.
Brea sprained his left thumb in his second summer league game, played through it in the third one and sat out the fourth and fifth games.
Again, it makes sense with the injured thumb. Brea proved he can shoot in his summer league debut, going 4-of-5 from 3 in a win over Washington.
 As for Maluach, this is a little tricky.
The 7-footer played in three summer league games, averaging 10 points on 35.7% shooting and 5.7 rebounds. He got up 3s (4.1 attempts), but Maluach only made 23.1% of them.
Had a slight case of the turnovers at times trying to handle the ball.
Maluach could have certainly used the reps Saturday, but the Suns are going to need him this season and have probably seen what they need to see from him. Now they can do some film study with Maluach and explain what they really are going to need from him this season.
The most important thing out of all of this is that Dunn, Ighodaro, Maluach and Brea came out of Vegas without any major injuries.
That’s a win-win-win-win for Phoenix.
Fleming flashes
Second-round draft pick Rasheer Fleming got his first start in his third summer league game. The 6-8 forward missed Phoenix’s first two games with right knee soreness.
He only took five shots in 19 minutes. Could’ve looked for his shot more, but the looks Fleming got, particularly 3s from the corner, are ones he’ll have with the Suns this season.
Fleming attempted four 3s, with three being from the corner. The two 3s he made were from the right corner.
Fleming finished with eight points, four fouls, three rebounds, two steals, one assist and no turnovers.
Beyond the numbers, Fleming made three plays that stood out.
Fleming earned a paint touch off the dribble as Portland bodies were waiting to defend the rim and found Battle for a corner 3, which Battle hit to give Phoenix a 52-39 lead early in the second half.
He blocked Sidy Cissoko’s dunk attempt from behind in the fourth quarter. The Suns challenged the foul call on Fleming, but it was ruled unsuccessful. Fleming got the ball clean up top, but he contacted Cissoko’s head on the follow-through. He played the ball perfectly, though.
Lastly, Fleming got back on defense after a two-handed dunk in the fourth. He lost one of his shoes, but Fleming put it back on and still ran out to challenge Cissoko’s 3.
Cissoko missed the 3.
Effort plays earn minutes.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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