{"id":650791,"date":"2026-03-10T12:24:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/650791\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:24:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:24:25","slug":"behind-devin-bookers-hot-3rd-quarter-phoenix-suns-top-new-orleans-pelicans-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/650791\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind Devin Booker\u2019s hot 3rd quarter, Phoenix Suns top New Orleans Pelicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 On the second night of a back-to-back on Friday, the Phoenix Suns re-entered the win column after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans, 118-116.<\/p>\n

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Mar 6, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) dribbles against New Orleans Pelicans guard Saddiq Bey (41) during the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Friday\u2019s game determined whether the Suns needed to improve execution and adjustment, or to raise their competitive level. Phoenix struggled against a Chicago Bulls team \u2014 going winless in February \u2014 that didn\u2019t have many of their main producers on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Despite having the scoring edge, the Suns didn\u2019t lead the entire game. Phoenix once again entered Friday with the scoring edge against New Orleans.<\/p>\n

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Mar 6, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) during the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Much of the first half was close, with lead changes by both teams and neither team able to take a massive lead. New Orleans led by as much as seven, while Phoenix\u2019s biggest lead was 10. Jalen Green, despite his shooting struggles, led the scoring for the Suns with 18 first-half points.<\/p>\n

In the third quarter, Phoenix once again stretched its lead to 10, but the Pelicans continued to cut down the deficit with key runs and at the free-throw line. However, momentum shifted to the Suns\u2019 favor as Devin Booker exploded for 18 points in the quarter.<\/p>\n

Phoenix held the lead the rest of the game, with five players in double-digit scoring, led by Booker\u2019s 32 points.<\/p>\n

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Mar 6, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) dunks over New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen (22) and New Orleans Pelicans forward Karlo Matkovic (17) during the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Suns have one more game at home before going back on the road, facing the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, March 8, at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

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*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*Wendy Lopez is a reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on her X account, @wlopezde<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 On the second night of a back-to-back on Friday, the Phoenix Suns re-entered the win column…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3796],"tags":[382,7,473,329,803,2292,7781,861,983,83993,4164,56639,6,478,470,4073,4072,11328,675,2065,472,1020,6445,6514,3209],"class_list":["post-650791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-arizona","tag-basketball","tag-charlotte-hornets","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-derik-queen","tag-devin-booker","tag-grayson-allen","tag-jalen-green","tag-jeremiah-fears","tag-joe-camporeale-imagn","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-mortgage-matchup-center","tag-nba","tag-new-orleans","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-neworleans","tag-neworleanspelicans","tag-oso-ighodaro","tag-pelicans","tag-phoenix","tag-phoenix-suns","tag-saddiq-bey","tag-the-suns","tag-trey-murphy-iii","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116204868545759708","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}