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Fewer ball losses, Jusuf Nurkic shows in the Suns' opening home win

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Two immediate takeaways from the Phoenix Suns' 114-102 victory over Dallas in their home opener at the Footprint Center: Phoenix took care of the ball and Jusuf Nurkic made Mike Budenholzer look like a prophet.

The Suns committed 22 turnovers that led to 16 points against the Los Angeles Clippers in their opener on Wednesday, and 17 turnovers at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday resulted in 26 points.

Budenholzer likes how the Suns try to share the ball, but he wanted better decision-making.

“Make decisions,” Budenholzer said. “I think we just have to be smart. We probably need to be more conscious of just making good choices, doing good reading. Maybe don't try to fit it into small gaps. Sometimes just really unforced turnovers.”

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The Suns made better decisions, shared the ball and didn't give it away as often for the second straight game. They only had 11 turnovers, which led to just 11 Dallas points.

As for Nurkic, he had a terrible game in Friday's 123-116 loss to the Lakers, scoring just four points on 1-of-5 shooting, four turnovers and four fouls in just 18 minutes.

Anthony Davis gave Nurkic and the Suns the win with a dominant 35-point performance. The Suns finished the game with a small lead from Kevin Durant at five – fully aware that Davis has a size advantage.

After the game, Budenholzer not only defended Nurkic, but added: “He will have his nights.”

Nurkic had a much better performance on Saturday, posting a double-double of 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting and 14 rebounds, both season highs, in 30 minutes.

Nurkic started slowly, still failing at the 3 and the line, but was more active. He completed a dive at the basket and used his size to score against the more athletic but thinner Dereck Lively II.

The 7-footer scored 12 straight points late in the second quarter on 5 of 5 shooting from the field and hit 1 of 2 from the line, giving Phoenix a 66-53 halftime lead.

In the second half, Nurkic grabbed huge defensive and offensive rebounds in the fourth period and delivered a dribble handoff to rookie Ryan Dunn for a 3 that gave the Suns a 99-90 lead with 7:38 left.

He then had a big block on Naji Marshall that was initially ruled a foul, but Budenholzer challenged the call and won the ball, giving Phoenix a 108-100 lead with 2:29 left in the game.

Nurkic played with a splint on his offhand after missing most of the preseason with an injury to his left middle finger. There were still five turnovers, but Kevin Durant didn't feel like they doomed the team.

Nurkic five was too much and he needs to get better. In all other areas he was better on Saturday.

Do you have any opinions on the current state of the suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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