Dillon Brooks, Suns seek to cool down streaking Cavaliers
The Phoenix Suns distributed "Dillon the Villain" T-shirts to fans on Thursday.
Dillon Brooks turned it into more than just a fashion statement.
Brooks scored a career-high 40 points and made four 3-pointers as the Suns opened a back-to-back set with a 114-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
"I didn't want to disappoint and lose on my villain night," Brooks said in a postgame TV interview.
The Suns on Friday night will host the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers, who are in a four-team scramble for the second seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Pistons. The Cavaliers have won a season-high five games in a row.
"I was just getting to my spots, something I work on every day," Brooks said. "My teammates and my coaches are trusting my work, my shooting, and my scoring ability.
"I'm just in a flow state (as the game progress), just trying to keep scoring, keep playing hard, not give into the fatigue and try to win the game."
Brooks added eight rebounds and four assists as the Suns won their second straight game without leading scorer Devin Booker (sprained ankle) while finding their outside shooting touch.
Collin Gillespie made five 3-pointers and Grayson Allen added four for the Suns, who were 16 of 42 from beyond the arc. They were 12 of 55 from long distance in the last two games.
Suns coach Jordan Ott said he was unaware of the Brooks T-shirt giveaway until afterward.
"We can give it away every night if it looks like that," said Ott, a Cleveland assistant last season.
The Cavaliers blew out the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 129-99 in their most recent game Wednesday.
Cleveland has won seven of its past eight games as it enters the first contest of a five-game road trip that includes games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets.
Donovan Mitchell had a team-high 25 points Wednesday for the Cavaliers, who outscored the Lakers 72-44 in the second half. Second-year wing Jaylon Tyson had 20 points, six assists and six rebounds while making his eighth straight start alongside Mitchell.
"Our intensity level on both ends of the floor," Mitchell said of the reason for the recent success in a postgame TV interview. "Not getting too high, not getting too low. Starting the games off strong. That is what we do, find ways to be connected and be together. And this guy (Tyson) has been phenomenal."
Mitchell averages 29.4 points per game, fifth-best in the league, and has 170 3-pointers, one behind Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry for the league lead.
While Mitchell has been a constant, Tyson's strong play has helped mitigate the injury losses of starting guard Darius Garland (toe) and center Evan Mobley (calf). Garland has missed the last seven games, and Mobley will sit out his second straight contest.
"There is a lot more required of both of us," Mitchell said. "We're ready to step up."
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said he has been "blown away" by the play of Tyson, who is averaging 13.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 44 games (29 starts).
"It bodes really well for our future if we can get a 6-foot-7 wing, kind of a secondary playmaker," Atkinson said.
The coach said he would not call the victory over the Lakers' a "statement" win but did say there are "wins that feel better ... LeBron (James) here, and it's the Lakers. I think that's important. You don't want to go into this long, tough road trip with a loss."
James, a longtime former Cavaliers star and fan favorite, was held to 11 points as he suffered his worst defeat in Cleveland as a visiting player.