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Jalen Green said Friday night felt like the kind of game that brings out the best in a team, and the Phoenix Suns backed it up with a 111-96 win over the Golden State Warriors to secure the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
“Super fun,” Green said when asked how much fun the night was. “Especially the way we were playing, ball flying around, playing defense, finding each other, getting steals, getting out and running. That’s when we had our best. So it was very fun tonight.”
Green tied a career high with eight made 3-pointers and finished with 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting. He said the shot felt right from the start. “I don’t know. Just felt good all night. We were getting some open looks. So yeah, felt good all night.”
The Suns guard also admitted the matchup carried extra meaning after last year’s playoff series against Golden State. “For sure,” Green said. “I mean I remember what they did last year. It’s not going to leave my first playoff series. Like I said before, there’s a lesson in every situation. It’s never failure. You always get back up. So I for sure brought some of that energy from last year into tonight’s game. And we capitalized. I’m happy about it.”
Green said much of his production came from the attention Devin Booker drew from the Warriors’ defense. “I’m very comfortable playing up there with Book,” he said. “You kind of got to pick your poison of how you’re going to guard it. Even if it’s a heavy shift or not.”
He explained the Suns’ spacing kept the pressure on Golden State. “If you want to help over too much, then I’ll be in a closeout situation. If you’re not, then Book will be able to get to a spot and rise up or get downhill. So it’s kind of a two-man threat right there.”
Green also pointed to the Suns’ preparation on the defensive end. “Shout out to our staff and the film guys for breaking it down and giving us the looks of what we’re going to be able to see,” he said. “Really just dialing in to what we’re going to do out there and it’s all about just having each other’s back.”
After a difficult end to the previous game against Portland, Green said Phoenix kept the response simple. “It’s the NBA. You kind of learn that your first couple of years coming in that you can’t dwell about last game too much. You got another one coming up.”
He said a postgame exchange with Stephen Curry meant a lot. “He was just telling me go handle business in OKC,” Green said. “Coming from Steph it means a lot.”
Green, who missed stretches this season because of injuries, also spoke about the patience required to get back to this point. “It was tough,” he said. “Just getting injured in the first place, coming back, getting injured again, coming back, getting injured. I think it happened about three or four times.”
Now Phoenix moves on to face the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and Green said the Suns know exactly what they need to do. “We bring the same energy that we brought tonight and getting stops, playing defense, getting out and running,” he said. “That should be a good series.”
