There are nights when a basketball team doesn’t just win — it puts on a show. Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum was one of those nights for the Phoenix Suns.
Devin Booker, Jalen Green, and Royce O’Neale each cracked 20 points as the Suns dismantled the Milwaukee Bucks 129-114, draining a season-high 24 three-pointers in what was nothing short of a masterclass in perimeter shooting. Phoenix shot 53.9% from the field and 47.1% from deep. That’s not a hot night. That’s a scorching one.
But this game wasn’t a wire-to-wire blowout. It was a fight — the kind that tests a team’s character before it rewards their talent.
A Game That Had Everything
Fifteen ties. Twelve lead changes. Two teams trading punches for three quarters like they had something to prove. The Bucks, despite their 27-37 record, weren’t rolling over. Kyle Kuzma dropped a season-high 33 points, refusing to let Milwaukee go quietly. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner each added 22 points, and for stretches, it genuinely felt like the Bucks might steal one at home.
Then Royce O’Neale happened.
With the score tied at 97 and the third quarter clock ticking toward zero, O’Neale launched a buzzer-beater from nearly 50 feet out. It went in. The entire Suns bench erupted. The momentum swung — and it never came back to Milwaukee.
The Suns’ Fourth Quarter Was Ice Cold
Phoenix opened the fourth on a 7-0 run, pushing the lead to 107-97, and that was that. The Bucks, who had been right there all night, suddenly looked exhausted. Their offense stalled. Their defense, already stretched thin, simply couldn’t handle what Phoenix was throwing at them.
The Suns held Milwaukee to just 17 fourth-quarter points. Seventeen. In a game where both teams had been trading buckets freely all night, that kind of defensive lockdown in the closing minutes is what separates a good team from a dangerous one.
Three Stars Doing Star Things
Booker finished with 27 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, operating with the quiet confidence of a player who has been here before. His pull-up jumpers, his free-throw drawing, his ability to make the right read every single time — it’s becoming routine, and yet it never stops being impressive.
Green was electric with 25 points, continuing to grow into a legitimate co-star alongside Booker. His explosiveness off the dribble kept Milwaukee’s defense honest all night, and he converted when it mattered most.
Then there was O’Neale — 21 points, seven three-pointers, and the buzzer-beater that broke the Bucks’ spirit. On a night where the Suns were raining threes, O’Neale was the most accurate shooter in the building.
What This Win Means for the Suns
More importantly, this victory — the first of a six-game road trip — moves the Suns within one game of Denver for seventh place in the Western Conference standings. The playoff picture is tightening, and the Suns are playing some of their best basketball of the season at exactly the right time.
For Milwaukee, the road ahead looks rough. Six of their next eight games are away from home, and the injury report isn’t getting any shorter. Kevin Porter Jr. missed his fourth straight game. Bobby Portis and Jericho Sims remain sidelined. On the bright side, Taurean Prince returned from neck surgery to log 18 minutes — a small but meaningful step forward.
The Suns next head to Indiana on Thursday. If they carry this kind of shooting performance with them, the Pacers should be nervous.
