Bismack Biyombo dominates paint, ties season high 5 blocks in Suns' win over 76ers
After the Suns lost five of their previous six games entering Saturday, they're starting to see some light in their dark tunnel from their 20-point home rout of Philadelphia. Phoenix's veteran center Bismack Biyombo shined for them in the paint on both ends of the floor.
In his 13th start this season, and fourth straight to replace the injured Deandre Ayton, Biyombo produced his season-best 17 points with game highs 13 rebounds and five blocks. The latter statistic tied his most for the third time this season since he sent back that many shots in the Suns' homes wins over Charlotte and Houston on Jan. 23 and Oct. 30.
Biyombo averages just four points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game as Ayton's backup.
"If you would've asked me before the game started is Biz going to score 17 points, I would've been like, 'I hope so.' But that's probably not normal for our team when he's out there playing," Suns coach Monty Williams said in the postgame.
Biyombo's overachieving inside presence was what the Suns needed to counter the NBA's leading scorer and MVP candidate Joel Embiid (28 points, 8-of-19 shooting, 11-of-13 FT) and the East's third-place 76ers.
The Suns outscored the 76ers in the paint, 42-36, which is where Biyombo got all his buckets and four of them were dunks. His 8-of-12 shooting was among the six Suns who shot over 50% (Devin Booker, team high 29 points on 9-of-18 FG; Chris Paul, 13 on 4-of-7 FG; Terrence Ross, 15 points on 6-of-12 FG; Cameron Payne, 14 on 6-of-9 FG; T.J. Warren, 16 points on 7-of-12 FG).
In their second game of a back-to-back following their gut-wrenching loss at Sacramento, and a tough week in which Williams was fined on Friday for his comments about the officiating after their Wednesday loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, the team's grit and ability to maintain their gameplan against the 76ers was a degree of redemption.
“It was huge for sure because nobody does it better than Jo (Embiid)," Williams said. "He’s big, he’s mobile, he can draw contact and finish. You have to just move onto the next play. We didn’t get a ton of opportunities at the line tonight, but we were still in attack mode. That’s why Biz had a lot of points tonight in the paint."
Williams added that despite 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey's game high 37 points, including seven 3s, the Suns' best offense came from their defensive stops, in which Biyombo was their best contributor. That enabled them to get out and run, attack the paint and be more efficient.
“It was really good. We pushed it, played with tempo. Our offense is at its best when we get stops. I think when our defense is really good, it feeds everything else," Chris Paul said.
The 76ers were without their second-best scorer, best facilitator, the league's assist leader and one of the best penetrators James Harden (left Achilles soreness), which inevitably altered their offensive production.
In the Suns gameplan to focus more on stopping Embiid, Biyombo and Williams said it took a team effort with the bench to stop him and click well on offense.
As for Biyombo's five blocks, he made it tough for Embiid punching back two of his shots. But it was difficult to stay aggressive while picking up five fouls, and the Suns had just Jock Landale (two points, two rebounds, one block in 14 minutes) as their other big to help defend against Embiid in the middle.
“In a game like this, I think, one, if you watch a lot of the clip, I was pulling my hand back a lot because basically the ref was like, ‘If you have your hands back and you’re running, too, those are not fouls," Biyombo said. "And I think when we started doing that – obviously we’re not getting calls – but block shots, defense, I always go with my instinct."
Keeping the ball in play after blocking shots to create fast breaks is a science.
Biyombo added that when he sees one of the Suns guards pushing the ball up the floor, he instinctually trails him and his other teammate will cover for him toward the backcourt as a potential transitional defender if the other team quickly regains possession.
“I always try to pay attention to my teammate, seeing where they are when I go to block the shot. Usually I block the shot from the weak side, so usually there’s a guy behind trailing. As I block the shot, I block it ideally either tap it on the glass or tap it over there so he can grab it and then we can get a fast break. Basically, I try to observe my teammate, honestly. ...
“You can’t get it perfect, but you try your best to make those plays and keep the ball in play so we can run the other way.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Biyombo steps up big vs. Embiid, gets 5 blocks in Suns' win over 76ers
