The Suns pulled off a thrilling win over Minnesota on Friday night — overcoming an eight-point deficit in the final minute — but the comeback wasn’t complete until Collin Gillespie drove to the basket and sank a short jumper to give his team the lead. It marked the latest in a series of big moments for the third-year guard, and coach Jordan Ott didn’t hesitate to run the deciding play for him, writes Doug Haller of The Athletic.
“He’s growing,” Ott said. “He’s in situations like tonight that he’s probably never been in at the NBA level. But he’s going to continue to get better. He’s finding solutions out there on the fly.”
Haller notes that Gillespie has constantly been in situations where he’s had to prove himself to doubters, first at Villanova and now in the NBA. He spent his first two seasons on two-way contracts with Denver and Phoenix before signing a one-year standard deal with the Suns during the summer. Injuries to teammates have given him a larger-than-expected role, and he has responded by averaging 11.1 PPG and scoring in double figures the past four games.
Gillespie’s heroics on Friday didn’t end with the game-winning shot. Ott was also impressed by his defensive effort on the Wolves’ final possession as he provided help on Anthony Edwards and forced him to give up the ball.
“CG, he’s a hooper,” Dillon Brooks said. “And he battles every day.”
There’s more from Phoenix:
- The Suns view Gillespie as their version of Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Gambadoro says the team has tried several times to trade for McConnell, but now wouldn’t consider swapping Gillespie for him.
- A right quad contusion will cause Grayson Allen to miss his third straight game as the Suns host San Antonio on Sunday, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Ott provided a brief update on Allen’s condition after Saturday’s practice, saying, “He hasn’t done anything full court yet because today is a day after a game. He did do a workout today. This thing could speed up real fast, and he’d be fine, but it’s still the same contusion, bruise on the quad. Nothing long-term.”
- Jalen Green said his injured right hamstring is “getting better,” Rankin adds in the same piece, but he won’t be reevaluated until sometime in December. Green has been dealing with the injury since the start of training camp, and he has only appeared in two games this season. “I don’t even know what I did to be honest,” he said. “Freak accident. I really didn’t do nothing too explosive.”
- Brooks has been fined $35K for “confronting and directing inappropriate language toward game officials” during Friday’s contest, Rankin states in a separate story. Brooks was also fined $25K for “making a lewd gesture on the playing court” in a November 13 game, and he leads the league with four technical fouls, which each result in a $2K fine.