Suns’ inexplicable fourth-quarter problem is causing their star-laden roster to underachieve

The first minute of the fourth quarter in the Phoenix Suns’ most recent game hardly seemed to foreshadow the usual doom that has held the team back in its uneven 2023-24 season. Through 3 quarters 4th quarter Result January 8 at LAC All down 10 -17 138-111 L January 7 vs MEM All up 11 -17 121-115 L Christmas vs DAL Durant, Booker up 1 -15 128-114 L December 15 vs NY All up 2 -19 139-122 L November 15 vs MIN Durant, Booker up 28 -10 133-115 W November 12 vs OKC Durant, Beal up 6 -18 111-99 L November 10 vs LAL Durant, Beal up 7 -10 122-119 L October 31 vs SA Durant up 13 -14 115-114 L October 26 at LAL Durant up 12 -17 100-95 L This is not a trivial issue for the Suns, who are only 19-18 and squarely in the Play-In Tournament portion of the Western Conference standings after trading away control of every draft pick they own until 2031 to assemble a team led by Durant, Devin Booker and top offseason acquisition Bradley Beal. We’re talking about eight categories in which the Suns are the NBA’s worst team in the fourth quarter: 4th quarter Suns, ranked 30th 4th quarter Suns, ranked 30th Differential -3.5 Points 24.5 3s made, average 2.2 3s percentage 29.4 offensive efficiency 103 net rating -16.1 assist-TO 1.3 fast break points 1.6 Defensive efficiency isn’t one of those eight, but the Suns’ 119.1 points allowed per 100 possessions in fourth quarters still relegates them to the bottom 10. But Durant has played in each of the Suns’ worst fourth quarters, and Booker has been a part of most of them, too.