PHOENIX — It was the perfect night for the Suns to relocate their “mojo” and they capitalized on the timing with a gigantic 113-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday.
Two nights after Suns head coach Jordan Ott correctly stated the Boston Celtics came into the Suns’ building and “stole our own mojo,” they faced an opponent who could not have been more ideal to relocate it against, a Los Angeles Lakers team it had already made fold twice this season off sheer effort.
Thursday never got there, but that was again the catalyst behind a monumental Suns victory.
“We just had the right mindset to play for 48 minutes because we knew that’s how long it would take,” Ott said.
That is how they won without Devin Booker (right hip strain), Dillon Brooks (left hand fracture) and Jordan Goodwin (left calf strain). But the optics beyond that could not be bigger for the type of win Phoenix needed. It proved it could beat one of the best teams in its conference this shorthanded, that is was still in possession of the magic that got it to 34-26 even without its two biggest culture drivers and its leader.
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The locker room desperately required that sort of lift. You could see confidence waning the last two games, and once that team-wide belief really starts to fade, you’re in serious trouble no matter where you are in the standings.
That moment was on the horizon for this group after dropping seven of 10, but for now, the Suns have held it off with the incredible resilience and fight we’ve seen all year that will serve as a powerful reminder of who they are.
We’ve declared many victories the “win of the season” but the importance of this one to the rest of the year will be hard to top.
Ott downplayed the significance of it and referred to the last few weeks as just a bump in the road that is totally normal for every team, citing some shooting variance too, but there was no doubt the quality of basketball from his guys on both ends of the floor was nosediving.
The win was fueled by the bench, yet another instance where Phoenix’s depth shined despite however impactful its absences were. Ott, for the first time all year, pulled all of his starters in rapid succession with 8:03 left in the third quarter.
“It just feels repetitive. That’s it. We’re pretty honest and transparent. We gotta play better, start better in the third quarter. Thought we talked enough about it,” Ott said. “And it’s a risk. But it’s only a risk if you don’t believe in your teammates, and they know they have to come in and change the game.”
Ott credited the starters for bringing strong communication on the bench during that time and didn’t want that to go unnoticed.
Grayson Allen had checked in 30 seconds before Ott put in four other reserves, and Allen would close the game over Jalen Green, while Oso Ighodaro played 20 straight minutes over Mark Williams to conclude the game.
Bench points were 56-25, with 10 of Phoenix’s 22 3-pointers. Allen had half of those points, 28, and the biggest play of the game was one he doesn’t even get credit for in the box score.
After Phoenix went up 10 with 7:43 left, our watches read “Quit O’Clock” for the Lakers. Ryan Dunn got it to 10 on a free dunk when he was in the far-side corner of the floor off a Lakers miss, and in transition, ran by an immobile LeBron James and Austin Reaves with Luka Doncic having his back turned to live play as the lone guy slowly jogging back.
But then Los Angeles’ Marcus Smart hit a 3, scored on an and-1, blocked a Dunn dunk attempt and also had a steal that allowed Doncic to give his attempt at master of closing ceremonies. Doncic scored nine straight of his 41 points, and a putback by Jake LaRavia got L.A. within a possession at just over two minutes to go.
Allen, looking totally exhausted after leading the charge, then missed back-to-back open 3s and was fortunate to have Royce O’Neale snag the second miss to get the Suns back up two at 35.4 seconds remaining.
James got yet another putback for the Lakers to tie it but Phoenix would be in a position to take the last shot with 22 seconds left.
Allen admitted he really needed to catch his breath at that timeout, but he wound up having one more good drive left in his tank. He said as soon as he got into the lane and forced the help, he knew the pass to the perimeter would be there; it was just a matter of getting it off.
Well, it wound up being a whole lot more difficult than how simple Allen made the play sound after the fact.
“It was a little bit of an ugly pass to hang in the air and get it to the corner, but thankfully I got it there,” Allen said.
It found Collin Gillespie, who showed off his savvy by making the extra pass to O’Neale, knowing there would be enough time left. There was and O’Neale buried it.
DRIVE. KICK. SWING.
Phoenix Suns basketball. pic.twitter.com/LsChlN5xAV
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) February 27, 2026
“It was kind of weird. … It got through and he made a great pass to me, and I just knew they were in rotation, so Royce was wide-open,” Gillespie said.
“He had a hell of a pass. … I’m ready to shoot as always,” O’Neale said.
L.A.’s play design after a timeout with 0.9 ticks left was perfect and got Reaves an open corner 3 that did not go down.
Green’s struggles on the ball continued for the Suns. His decision-making is a significant issue, on top of his low efficiency persisting with a 4-of-15 shooting night. He cannot be a primary ball-handler right now, and it is not just a gravity thing while the Suns are shorthanded.
Green’s had enough space to make things happen in these games, and more importantly when he hasn’t, the passing lanes are there that Booker could see with a blindfold on. Even someone like Allen is leagues ahead of Green in that department.
After Green’s worst stint, a little under four minutes through the third quarter, that’s when Ott pulled everyone down 11. It was the first time all season he’s done a hockey line change, and you rarely see it done in the NBA, almost always executed by the coach to send a message to his opening group.
The other four weren’t that great with their energy out of the break, but it sure seemed like just a way to get Green out fast with how he was torpedoing the offense.
That’s when second-round pick Rasheer Fleming swung the game for the second time of the night in his best game as a pro. This is the type of outing that will earn him serious consideration for rotation minutes the rest of the season, even when Phoenix is fully healthy. It’s time to play the kid every night.
“We always tell him that he has no idea how good he can really be,” Gillespie said of Fleming. “He’s so young in his basketball career, he’s still learning. But he listens, he asks questions. He’s one of the better rookies that I’ve been around in terms of, just doesn’t complain about anything, doesn’t talk that much and just does what he’s told to do.
“He could be so, so good. I don’t even think he’s close to (his ceiling), he probably doesn’t even know what his ceiling is. I don’t even know what his ceiling is.”
Fleming has had a few appearances where his energy has been able to impact a couple of possessions but this was the most bountiful return yet on that proposition. His length and size affected Luka Doncic and LeBron James on the ball, and he was great about getting to loose balls.
Yeah, he’s going to be *very* good pic.twitter.com/LRl3JsUPvh
— Erik Ruby (@ErikRuby) February 27, 2026
That was the first half, and then Fleming in the second half scored on a cutting drive before forcing a turnover on the next possession.
I maintain that Rasheer is the Suns most league-ready rookie, & the moments of impact with him were LOUD in that Q3.
Impact on the ball, extended pick-ups, knocked down 2 from deep, 6 (!) rebounds, 8 points, screen under-stay under flow in secondary action — it’s all there. t.co/gzwOljM4ji pic.twitter.com/pFtyTWbPcD
— Stephen PridGeon-Garner ? (@StephenPG3) February 27, 2026
Allen hit a pair of 3s, plus had a steal and an assist during that 10-0 flurry, a response to Ott’s actions that went from Phoenix being down a dozen to just two.
The reserves just kept riding the momentum. Allen, Amir Coffey and Fleming hit a trio of 3s that eventually put the Suns up three with under a minute to go in the third quarter. It was tied going into the final frame after Allen scored 16 of Phoenix’s 31 points, its first 30-point quarter in its last 12 periods.
At that point, it was mission accomplished. All Phoenix had to do was get this game tight and force an ultra-sloppy Lakers squad to execute. You live with what happens from there, and it was enough to win.
The fascinating moment would be when Ott went back to some of his starters, which ones he would play, for how long and who would close.
Ott reinserted Gillespie, O’Neale and Dunn to start the fourth quarter and finish, leaving Green and Williams on the bench. Green would trickle in a few minutes later but we would not see Williams the rest of the way. Green was then pulled for Allen a few minutes later once Allen got enough rest.
“He understands,” Ott said of Green. “We feel for him. He’s trying to develop some type of rhythm on a new team. … He’s gonna be dying to get back out there next game.”
Gillespie hit four 3s in the fourth quarter and a few were the beneficiary of his always-excellent chemistry with Ighodaro.
The two were clearly targeting some quick dribble-handoff screens that looked borderline choreographed. Ighodaro, however, told Arizona Sports he and Gillespie don’t even need to have a conversation or require a pointer from the coaching staff. All it comes down to is a look exchanged between the two and a read.
Ighodaro played a season-high 34 minutes. It’s hard to think of where this Suns season would be without his big-time development after a tepid rookie campaign. His defense was also tremendous in this contest.
“He played the whole game. He played the whole total package tonight,” Ott said of Ighodaro. “He didn’t come out of the game for that reason. He impacts winning and we often forget he’s only a second-year player.”
It was 21 points for Gillespie with six 3s while Ighodaro had eight points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Fleming was +19 in 21 minutes with eight points and six rebounds.
“You’re starting to feel comfortable with him out there and I think that speaks to his growth. … The guys are learning him and respecting him, which is what we all desperately want in this game, and he’s getting it,” Ott said of Fleming.
Fleming stands out so much with his athleticism at 6-foot-9 that he captivates the crowd whenever he makes any play. That was the energy that changed the game in the second half.
“With this home crowd, you can switch the momentum so quick and we get so much energy going in the building. … The nonstop pressure, I think the crowd feels that and so their energy picks up and then we can feed off of that too. … It’s big for a guy like ‘Sheer,'” Allen said.
Williams played 13 minutes for Phoenix. It’s his lowest total of the season when not factoring in a game on a back-to-back. It is a massive compliment to the respect Ott commands in the locker room as a first-time head coach that he sat both Williams and Green despite the standing they each hold.
We’ve seen veteran coaches in the past not have the courage to do that when the season is tailspinning, let alone at a point like this in the season where we’re not close to those types of stakes yet.
Thursday was the last game the Suns play before Booker’s re-evaluation timeline of one week expires on Saturday.
Given how finicky hip injuries can be, especially for a player with such dynamic movement range like Booker, it would be surprising to see him back so soon. For what it’s worth, though, Phoenix will be off until Tuesday. And if Booker indeed needs more time, he wouldn’t miss premium competition.
The Suns go to Sacramento before hosting Chicago, New Orleans and Charlotte, three teams firmly in the tanking race, with the Hornets being the exception.
Follow @KellanOlson
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