PHOENIX — Damn is it hard to find a spot for him but Dillon Brooks presented his All-Star case on Thursday with a career-high 40 points to lead the depleted Phoenix Suns in a shocking 114-96 win over the Detroit Pistons.
And you know what, it’s honestly not shocking or surprising anymore. That’s just more for emphasis to continue applauding how these Suns defy expectation after expectation.
Without Devin Booker (right ankle sprain) and Jalen Green (right hamstring strain), Phoenix took down the best team in the Eastern Conference that also just so happened to be playing its best basketball of the season.
After the Suns (29-19) put forth two woeful offensive performances in a shorthanded state, they soared against a defense that was tops in the league since December, even better than Oklahoma City’s.
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It was all through Brooks. His 40-burger on 13-of-22 shooting was loaded up with 38 in the first three quarters and 29 came in the middle periods.
“Overall, he had a great night, and we needed all of ’em,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said.
It just so happened to come on the night “Dillon the Villain” shirts were given away to fans. Those were donned by several of his teammates after the game, and even his coach.
He did not believe the career night was due to the occasion.
“Every night I can go get 30 or 40 if I want to,” Brooks said.
He agrees that he is at an All-Star level right now.
“Yeah, I feel like I’m playing at that level,” he said. “Ultimately, I’m not going to beg for it or do anything like that. If it comes, it comes. But our real All-Star is Book. He’s been leading us the whole time and he deserves to be in that All-Star talk and being a reserve on that All-Star team.”
Dillon Brooks thinks he is playing at an All-Star level, but says Devin Booker is the Sun that “deserves” to be an All-Star reserve due to his play and leadership all season. pic.twitter.com/wRI7VMulk3
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) January 30, 2026
Brooks has a difficult path toward the nod, especially as an international player with the rule changes to the game requiring a balance for the Team USA vs. Team World format.
Locks for the seven reserve spots in the Western Conference include mainstays like Anthony Edwards, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard, as well as breakouts having career years like Deni Avdija, Jamal Murray and Alperen Sengun.
That’s six of the seven gone just like that, before getting to Booker or James Harden or Chet Holmgren, who are all receiving love, too.
Regardless, the campaign speaks for itself in a way, even if the accolade doesn’t follow it. And it’s important to note this is not just narrative-driven reasoning for his inclusion. He truly is at those heights individually, on top of everything he has done as a culture driver.
The 1-on-1 flow Brooks found Thursday in a relentlessly physical downhill mentality took on all of the pressure that allowed the offense to hum elsewhere.
Phoenix hit five 3s in the first seven minutes after amounting to that total in all of Tuesday’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets, while its defense clearly won the first couple of rounds against a Pistons squad that loves getting into the paint blow by blow.
It was 72 points for the Suns in the first half, the most by any team against Detroit (34-12) this season, to lead by 16.
Even though the Pistons came out of halftime with the expected response of an 18-5 run, Phoenix weathered the storm mostly through Brooks to regain control, as well as a steadying defensive presence from its exceptional second unit.
Ott called two timeouts within the first four minutes of the second half to locate some energy, and shortly thereafter he inserted Jordan Goodwin and Oso Ighodaro to bring it like they have all year.
“That second unit, which they’ve done all season, just took it to another level,” Ott said.
Once Detroit got within four at 5:45 left in the third quarter, Brooks scored all 10 of the Suns’ remaining points to get the advantage back to a dozen with the defense stabilizing.
What looked like it would be an absolute war to finish off was instead easy enough through a rock fight second half that went 42-40 Suns.
Another flurry from the reserves ballooned the Phoenix lead to 15, and with under four minutes to go, Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart drove into the lane for an awkward lay-in finish that Brooks prominently punished.
Stewart, a known agitator in Brooks’ style, had been trying desperately in the teams’ two meetings to make Brooks break. A pull of his jersey here, extra shove there. No dice. Even though he didn’t shoot it well in the first matchup, Brooks took it in stride and didn’t snap.
He let Stewart know he got the last laugh after that swat that wrapped things up.
arizonasports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/15eb4e8a-0c81-0a82-0b93-cfb7809b1a06_1280x720.mp4“I just know them, and I got more technical fouls than him so I gotta keep them until the end of the year,” Brooks said of Stewart’s antics.
This was a glowing example of how the Suns win games within the margins.
It was 24-10 Suns in second-chance points, and while points off turnovers were 17-14 Pistons, Phoenix had a rare feast at the foul line with a 24-16 advantage in free throws made. Add on the sizable 16-6 gap in 3-pointers made and that’s how you cruise in a game like this.
Collin Gillespie added 16 points after missing one game due to a sprained right hand. He was playing through some pain but is used to that and is more upset by the fact that he sat for one at all, as he was targeting a full 82 games. Very Villanova and Mikal Bridges of him, if I do say so myself.
Ott went out of his way to shout out a big-time fourth quarter for Mark Williams, who was once again having problems against a marquee center and/or team.
The first three periods did not go his way and it was trending toward another necessary Oso Ighodaro closing hour before Williams was in for the chunk of the final frame that decided the game. Williams was +2 in 25 minutes while Ighodaro was +19 in 20 minutes.
Pistons All-Star Cade Cunningham could not get it done at an elite level against Phoenix for the second straight time. Goodwin was once again a menace on him. Cunningham ended up at 8 for 22 shooting and 26 points with seven assists and two turnovers.
Detroit, though, did wind up shooting 19 for 21 at the rim, according to Cleaning the Glass. That continues to be a problem for Phoenix.
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