MEMPHIS – The Phoenix Suns will take the 131-105 victory on Monday, March 30, over the very short-handed Memphis Grizzlies before a crowd of 14,661 at FedExForum.
The Suns (42-33) couldn’t afford to lose to a Memphis team down 11 players, starting with its superstar, Ja Morant, but they were clinging to a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter on the strength of Devin Booker’s 30-footer bank-in 3 to end the third quarter.
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The win guaranteed Phoenix a winning record this season.
Coach Jordan Ott began the fourth with essentially a reserve unit of Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, Ryan Dunn, rookie Rasheer Fleming and Oso Ighodaro. No Jalen Green. No Royce O’Neale. No Booker.
Those three accounted for 72.5% of Phoenix’s points through three quarters. Booker generated a game-high 36 in 26 minutes without a free throw attempt. Green reached 21 points. O’Neale had added nine.
The Suns needed that production.
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Phoenix Suns face Memphis Grizzlies in road matchup
Phoenix Suns forward Royce O’Neale (00) shoots for three during the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
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Phoenix Suns face Memphis Grizzlies in road matchup
Phoenix Suns forward Royce O’Neale (00) shoots for three during the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
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Phoenix Suns face Memphis Grizzlies in road matchup
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) drives to the basket as Memphis Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer (24) during the first quarter at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
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Phoenix Suns face Memphis Grizzlies in road matchup
Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach (10) shoots between Memphis Grizzlies guard Jahmai Mashack (21) and guard Walter Clayton Jr. (4) during the first quarter at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
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Phoenix Suns face Memphis Grizzlies in road matchup
Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) dunks over Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) during the first quarter at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
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Phoenix Suns face Memphis Grizzlies in road matchup
Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) shoots as Memphis Grizzlies guard Jahmai Mashack (21) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
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Phoenix Suns face Memphis Grizzlies in road matchup
Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott looks on during the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
They needed defensive stops even more.
The Gillespie-Goodwin-Dunn-Fleming-Ighodaro unit started what proved to be a dominant defensive finish. The Suns outscored the Grizzlies, 40-16, in the fourth, limiting Memphis (25-50) to 5-of-14 shooting (1-of-6 on 3s) in the game’s final 12 minutes.
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Phoenix forced seven turnovers in the fourth, scoring nine points off them.
Here are takeaways as the Suns continue their four-game road trip on March 31 against the Orlando Magic.
Dillon Brooks is set to make his return, league sources informed The Arizona Republic, after missing 18 consecutive games with a fractured left hand.
Gillespie finally finds range
The Suns turned up the defense in the fourth, but they still needed buckets.
Enter Gillespie.
The Suns needed this. Gillespie needed it more.
He went scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting, all 3-point attempts, in a 134-109 win on March 28 over the Utah Jazz in Phoenix.
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Gillespie followed that up with eight more consecutive misfires from distance against the Grizzlies. He was 0-for-10 through three quarters and still scoreless.
Gillespie was contributing in other ways. Seven assists and three rebounds versus Utah.
Eight more dimes and four boards through three quarters against Memphis, but those dismal shooting figures were casting a much larger shadow on the game.
He kept shooting but missed another 3 to give him eight distance misfires.
Gillespie made his way inside the free-throw line. Off again from six feet out, but the Suns were up four points as Ighodaro and Fleming scored from extremely close range.
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Then it happened in typical Phoenix fashion.
Goodwin forced a turnover, pushed the ball up and Gillespie ran to the corner with hands out, feet set and ready to hoist. Pass delivered. Shot launched.
And Gillespie scored. Finally.
The Suns’ bench rose up. Gillespie looked up to the ceiling with his hands extended.
Prayers answered. Finally.
Suns up seven. Memphis timeout with 9:46 remaining.
The game wasn’t over, but Gillespie was just getting started.
He nailed two more 3s to give him 11 points to go with a game-high 10 assists and five rebounds.
Before those 3s, Gillespie drew a charge on Taylor Hendricks early in the fourth to help set a defensive tone the Suns built upon in pulling away.
Sticking with lineup
Phoenix shot 60.7% from the field in the fourth.
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Dunn grabbed six boards in the fourth. Ighodaro contributed three rebounds and two assists in the quarter.
Goodwin and Fleming hit back-to-back 3s that Fleming followed with a dunk off an Ighodaro feed for an 8-0 run to give Phoenix some air space, 110-95, with 6:30 left.
Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) shoots as Memphis Grizzlies guard Jahmai Mashack (21) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
Timeout Grizzlies.
Ott considered bringing in some substitutions before this point, but that unit not only turned the game around, but gave the head coach confidence to stay pat.
Memphis never drew closer than 13 points.
Booker, Green and O’Neale rested comfortably on the bench for the rest of the game.
They may wind up having more energy for the second of a back-to-back.
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They also know their top 3-point guy has broken out of a shooting slump. With 223 made 3s, Gillespie is four more 3-pointers away from setting the single-season record for 3s.
Quentin Richardson holds the record at 226 set in the 2004-05 season.
Brooks returns, the final stretch
The Suns split the 18 games Brooks missed with the injury. His return is one major step towards Phoenix returning to full strength.
Grayson Allen was set to play against the Magic as well after missing the Grizzlies game under left knee injury management.
League sources informed The Republic that the Suns are hopeful Mark Williams will return during the road trip. Phoenix follows the Magic game with an April 2 matchup against Williams’ former team, the Charlotte Hornets, and caps the trip April 5 versus the Chicago Bulls.
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Williams missed the first matchup in Phoenix with the foot injury, but the Suns have pushed the right buttons with him after three injury-plagued seasons with the Hornets. He’s played a career-high 56 games this season.
The Suns are seventh in the West. It’s unlikely they will catch the Houston Rockets (45-29) for sixth, but the Suns can’t slip up with the Los Angeles Clippers (39-36) looming at eighth.
They’re 3½ games behind the Rockets, but Houston owns the tiebreaker, 3-0, with one more matchup remaining on April 7 in Kevin Durant’s return game.
The top six teams in each conference advance to the playoffs, while the 7-10 teams compete in the play-in tournament for the seventh and eighth seeds.
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The Clippers trail Phoenix by three games, but they have the NBA’s 15th-toughest remaining schedule.
The Suns have the fifth-toughest schedule with five of their remaining seven opponents in the top 10 of their conference standings, starting with defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16), which has the league’s best record.
Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) dunks during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
Final Suns-Lakers game may impact tiebreaker
Phoenix also faces the Los Angeles Lakers (49-26) in what will be a huge game for possible tiebreaker purposes. The Suns end the regular season on the road against the Lakers and Thunder.
To set this up, the Suns and Clippers split their season series, 2-2. The next tiebreaker involving these two Pacific Division teams is division record.
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Remember that Suns-Lakers game back on Dec. 14 in Phoenix?
They both were coming off losses in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. The league paired the Suns and Lakers up to give them five matchups instead of the usual four for division opponents.
So, Phoenix will have one more division game than the Clippers.
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) drives to the basket against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second quarter at FedExForum on March 30, 2026.
A win over the Lakers will give the Suns an 11-6 division record.
So even if the Clippers win their final division games April 5 at the Sacramento Kings (19-57) and April 12 against the Golden State Warriors (36-39) to finish 10-6 in the Pacific, the Suns will have the better winning percentage in the division.
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Phoenix will host the Clippers in the play-in for the seventh playoff seed under this scenario.
Even if the Suns lost, they’d have a chance to land the eighth seed at home against the Portland Trail Blazers-Warriors winner.
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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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns win 2nd straight as Dillon Brooks set to return