Phoenix, AZ — The drought in the desert has ended.
It took a while, but the Milwaukee Bucks finally won a game in Phoenix, thereby snapping a 24-game losing streak dating back to 1987.
The Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns last night at US Airways Arena by a score of 98-94. Leading the Bucks to the victory were Monta Ellis (24 points) and Larry Sanders (19 points — a career high — and 15 rebounds). Shannon Brown had 20 points for the Suns off the bench.
Phoenix entered the fourth quarter with a five-point lead but the Bucks went on a 10-0 run down the stretch, in part due to Suns turnovers, with Mike Dunleavy Jr. hitting a three-point dagger with 57 seconds left.
The Bucks hadn’t won in Phoenix since the Suns played at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Interim coach Jim Boylan said there was no pre-game discussion of the team’s losing streak before the game, but he said the squad was aware of it. After the game, Boylan “handed them a copy of the box score from February 21, 1987, the last time the Bucks won in Phoenix,” according to NBA.com . The Bucks have won four of six under Boylan, who took over for Scott Skiles.
The Suns obviously haven’t been the same since Steve Nash left town. They are nnow in last place in the NBA Pacific Division of the Western Conference with an overall record of 13-28. They lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night and as of last night’s action have dropped four straight home games.
According to ESPN , there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since the Bucks’ last victory over the Suns:
“Thirteen of the 30 players on the two rosters had not yet been born when the Bucks won 115-107 in Phoenix 26 years ago. The longest current such streak is San Antonio’s 27-game winning streak against Golden State.”