The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A HISTORY-making season for Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns will continue in the NBA postseason as the second overall seed in the Western Conference.

The Suns concluded the regular season yesterday with a 123-121 win over the San Antonio Spurs and secured the No.2 seed with a 51-21 record. Ayton missed the final three games of the regular season with left knee soreness. He appeared in 69 of the Suns’ 72 games this season. He averaged a double double for the second consecutive season - 14.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

In 2019, the Suns were just 19-63 and improved to 34-39 in the 2020 season, the first year under current head coach Monty Williams.

The Suns won the Pacific division title for the first time in 14 years and one of the league’s longest playoff droughts when they earned a postseason berth for the first time in 11 years.

“We’re overjoyed about it. Our guys understand the journey that we’ve been on so for us to be in this position and win a division in the NBA is a huge accomplishment,” Williams said on winning the Pacific division title.

“Make no mistake about it, we don’t take it as the way other people are taking it, we look at it as a huge accomplishment, our guys deserve the right and should celebrate it.”

The NBA will feature an expanded play-in tournament for the first time in league history to determine the final two seeds in each conference. The play-in tournament will begin on May 18 and concludes May 21.

The No. 7 seed will face the No. 8 seed in each conference. The winner of that game becomes the No. 7 seed in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

The Suns will face the winner of the matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers (No.7) and the Golden State Warriors (No.8).

“I’m confident about how we’re playing, but we also know one through eight in the West is just nutty,” Williams said. “Everybody is beatable.”