Phoenix Suns centre Deandre Ayton (22) looks for help as Philadelphia 76ers centre Kyle O’Quinn (9) applies pressure during the second half yesterday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribiunemedia.net

#Bahamian centre Deandre Ayton and his Phoenix Suns kept their playoff hopes alive with a 130-117 rout over the Philadelphia 76ers yesterday in the National Basketball Association’s bubble at the ESPN Wild World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

#The 22-year-old, 6-foot, 11-inch Ayton played 32 minutes and 12 seconds, finishing with eight points, 12 rebounds and a pair of assists as the Suns remained undefeated at 7-0 since the league resumed play after taking a break because of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic across the globe in March.

#The Suns improved to 33-29 to stay in the hunt for the play-in spot for two teams for the eighth and final spot for the playoffs in the Western Division between the Minnesota Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs.

#The New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings, featuring Grand Bahamian guard “Buddy” Hield, were eliminated with their respective losses on Sunday.

#The NBA announced on Sunday that the first game between the eighth and ninth place teams will take place on Saturday at 2:30pm. If the eighth seed win, they will clinch the final playoff spot. If the ninth place team win, game two between the eighth place team will be played on Sunday.

#Whoever earns the berth will end up playing the conference winning Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, starting next week.

#Despite the loss, the 76ers have already secured the sixth spot in the Eastern Division with a 42-29 record, although they didn’t use any of their key players, including centre Joel Embiid, who is nursing an ankle injury and swingman Ben Simmons, who is expected to have a season-ending surgery.

#Ayton, in tipping the ball off to point guard Ricky Rubio to start the game, got open for an easy two-handed slam dunk for a 2-0 Suns’ lead and his highlight play. At the end of the first quarter, Ayton had four points with four rebounds, although they trailed the 76ers 27-23. At the half as they urged ahead 63-58, Ayton had added two more points and four rebounds.

#By the end of the third, the Suns were up 95-90 with Ayton contributing one rebound. Ayton put in two more points and added three more rebounds in the fourth quarter. Ayton, who was drafted as the top selection in the first round pick in the NBA draft last year, will lead the Suns as they play their final regular season game at 4pm Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Shaunae Miller-Uibo

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#AS a precautionary measure after a sub-par performance in the preliminaries, Bahamian Olympic 400 metre champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo opted not to compete in the women’s 100m final at the Star Athletic Sprint Showcase.

#In the heats of the one-day meet on Monday at the Montverde Academy, a private school facility in Montverde, Florida, Miller-Uibo, competing for Adidas, crossed the finish line in lane three in the preliminaries in fourth place in a sub-par 13.56 seconds.

#Sha’Carri Richardson, representing Nike, had the fastest qualifying time of 10.95. Kourtney Johnson, also of Nike, had the next best time of 11.25, followed by Kimberley Williams, who was unattached, in 12.11.

#The 26-year-old Miller-Uibo’s lane was not occupied when the final took place as Richardson went on to take the title in 10.83 with Johnson second in 11.15 and Williams third in 11.85. Miller-Uibo’s manager Claude Bryan, the chief executive officer of On Track Management Inc., said it was “just a mild discomfort so she opted for caution.”

#Pressed about whether Miller-Uibo would be affected for any other meets, Bryan declined any comments, but stated: “We’re looking for other low key opportunities for her to wrap up the season.”

#Miller-Uibo, who was unavailable for comments, has had a terrific season amidst the coronavirus pandemic that cancelled the remainder of the indoor track season in March and halted the start of the outdoor season.

#However, there were a few meets held in July where Miller-Uibo was able to produce a lifetime best of 10.98 at the Back to the Track: Clermont Series, which was then listed as the world’s fastest time to along with her leading time of 21.98 in the 200m last month as well.

#The 100m time enabled the 26-year-old Miller-Uibo to join a lofty group of just four women to run sub-11s in the 100m, sub-22s in the 200m and sub-49s in the 400.

#The list comprises France’s Marie José-Pérec (10.96 in the 100m, 21.99 in the 200m and 48.25 in the 400m), American Valerie Brisco-Hooks (10.99, 21.81 and 48.83) and Germany’s Marita Koch (10.83, 21.71 and 47.60, which stands as the world record from October 6, 1985.

#However, over the weekend at the Velocity Fest series of meets in Kingston, Jamaica, both Jamaican sensations Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah surpassed Miller-Ubio’s time in the 100m with top performances of 10.87 and 10.88 respectively.

#With Miller-Uibo out of the meet on Monday, Richardson came and picked up the sprint double, taking the 200m in 22.00 over Shakima Wimbley of adidas in 22.88. Johnson was third in 23.01.

#The 400m was also held with Kaylin Whitney of Nike taking the tape in 52.66. Carlin Muir of Puma was second in 53.45 and Lea Tshikaya, unattached, was third in 58.27.

#The meet also saw Trayvon Bromell of New Balance taking the men’s 100 in 9.87, well ahead of Justin Gatlin of Nike, who did 10.02. Miller-Ubio’s husband, Estonia decathlete Maicel Uibo, representing adidas, was 10th overall in 11.41.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Anthonique Strachan

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#IN what could be considered her “saving grace” as she continues to revitalise her promising young career, Bahamian sprinter Anthonique Strachan said she finds herself in the right atmosphere at the right time.

#Since 2018, Strachan has made the move from the United States to Jamaica where she’s training in the Maximizing Velocity & Power Track & Field Club (MVP) where she works out and trains with Jamaican superstars Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah.

#Over the weekend at the fourth and fifth Velocity Fest meets at the National Stadium in Kingston, Strachan sped to her season’s best of 22.67 seconds for third place overall in the women’s 200 metres.

#Strachan, who opened up in the first of the series of meets with 11.46 in the 100m for fifth place, said she’s extremely pleased because she’s running faster than she’s ran in the past 5-6 years.

#“I can’t be unhappy about it, although I see things that I need to improve on,” Strachan said.

#“Outside of that, I’m really happy and excited about everything that is happening for me right now, especially with the route this season has taken. This has just given me a better outlook for the 2021 season.”

#The 26-year-old 2012 double sprint World Junior Championship champion from Barcelona, Spain was referring to the disruption in the sporting world because of the coronavirus pandemic that shut down the indoor season and has put the outdoor season on hold.

#The Jamaicans, however, decided to return to some sort of normalcy by putting on a series of Velocity Fest Meets since July to keep their athletes in tip-top shape as they prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, which has been postponed until 2021.

#In those meets, Strachan raced against Fraser-Pryce, the reigning World 100m champion, in the 100m in the first race and against Thompson-Herah, the defending Olympic 100/200m champion, in the 200m over the weekend.

#“Honestly, probably because I train with them, I don’t feel no difference in competing with them as opposed to training with them,” Strachan stated.

#“But I do know that once Shelly and Elaine go on the track, it’s no more fun and games. It’s all about the business and you know for sure there is going to be a fast time run. You just have to hope that either you have a fast time too or you get a chance to surpass them.”

#In the series of meets, Fraser-Pryce, in her return to the track scene last year after having a baby, produced the fastest time in the world in the 100m in 10.87, followed closely by Thompson-Herah in 10.88.

#They both improved on the previous best of 10.98 by Bahamian Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo in a meet in Florida. Thompson-Herah also turned in a time of 22.19 in the 200m, but it was to fall short of Miller-Uibo’s world’s leading mark of 21.98 last month as well.

#As one of a few international athletes training in Jamaica, Strachan said she feels right at home, even though some of the athletes constantly remind her to slow down her speech because they sometimes have a difficulty understanding her dialect.

#“Other than that, there’s no difference because we all basically knew each other before we even started training together,” Strachan said. “I knew Shericka (Jackson, the 400m specialist) from the CARIFTA days. I knew Elaine and Shelly-Ann from I started competing on the senior national team.

#“Even though I never had a one-on-one conversation with them like I have now, but I still spoke to them. It’s okay to be around them because I know what they are like and it’s easy to communicate with them.”

#Not your typical early morning riser, Strachan said she had to make a major adjustment to get up around 4:40am to prepare herself to start her training shift, if it started either at 6, 7:30 or 9am.

#Once her session is done, she returns home and does her rehab and if she has to go in the gym, she will do it around 1pm. After she does another rehab session, she then completes the day by reviewing her workout sessions to see where she made her mistakes.

#When she initially made the transition from Auburn where she trained under coach Henry Rolle to Jamaica where she is now being coached by brothers Paul and Stephen Francis, Strachan said it’s more than she had originally anticipated.

#“Based on where I was as a junior and where I was at when I came here, I felt I couldn’t get no lower in my career,” reflected Strachan, who is still seeking the international success she achieved as a junior athlete.

#“I felt I couldn’t get no lower than I reached, so this was like my saving grace. I want to put myself in an uncomfortable situation to see if it’s working. So when I came here in 2018, I was not all that interested in it.”

#Used to the luxury of being in the USA where she could order an item and have it delivered to her doorstep in a day or two, Strachan said she came to Jamaica where she had to add the extra taxes for products to be delivered a longer time and her grocery list was extended from about $100 to $300.

#“The training camp was okay, but the personal life aspect was upsetting me. And once you are upset in your personal life, it trickles into track and field and into your business world,” Strachan pointed out.

#“I was like, this wasn’t making no sense because I was already in a decline in my career. I was like how I am going to save myself if I out myself in a stronger strain.”

#But she was constantly reminded by her mother, Simone Farmer, that she just had to buckle down and make the best of her situation. She said the coaches in MVP also stressed to her the importance of doing whatever it took to make it work.

#“They just told me that I had to get used to the lifestyle here and try not to keep comparing it to the Bahamas or the United States because the Jamaican athletes are making the most of their situation,” said Strachan, whose father is Alfred Strachan Sr.

#“I had to learn to trust the process.”

#In 2011 after she left St Augustine’s College, Strachan went to the US to begin her pro track and field career under the sponsorship of Puma for the 2012 season.

#Unfortunately, she didn’t compete in college and that may have been one of the downfalls that hindered her transition from being a junior to a senior athlete.

#“Outside of my junior career, I didn’t have that turn over as a senior,” she said. “So I decided that I wanted to train with people who were better than me because I felt that is the only thing that will help me.

#“When you look at the 100 and 200m, the top competitors in Jamaica, so it’s probably something that they are doing right that I wasn’t doing correct. Because I signed as a pro as a junior, I skipped college, which would have given me that stepping stone in my senior career.”

#As a result, Strachan said she didn’t feel she was 100 per cent a pro athlete, although she was competing at 100 per cent, injury or injury-free. She did have Jamaican sprinter Kerron Stewart and Trinidad & Tobago’s Marc Burns to rely on in Auburn, but they were on their way out.

#So she felt that with Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah still in the prime of their career, Strachan said there was no way she could pass up the opportunity to train with MVP, a move that she said she would do it all over again, if she was presented with the challenge.

#“I wanted to be great and I felt that the only way I could do it, was to be in an atmosphere where the great athletes were,” she quipped. “Here in Jamaica, MVP’s whole camp is designed just around track and field. I feel this was something that I needed to actually ground me.

#“The way Stephen and Paul (Francis) coach, is completely different from any other coach I worked with in the past. I could respect their coaching style because they are so frank and direct. I could go to them and ask them if they think I could run 22.1 this year, if I had asked them that in 2018, they would have told me not the way I look. They would have said, you would be lucky to run 23.”

#That blunt firmness, according to Strachan, was what she needed.

#“They constantly told me that I needed to put in more work because I can see what this person and that person are doing,” he said.

#“I don’t need to do what they are doing, but I need to come close to it in order to improve my performance.

#“In this camp, it’s not like ‘oh, you see what Elaine and Shelly-Ann are doing, let’s do it too,” she said. “What will work for them will not necessarily work for you.

#“But you sit there and see them do their abs and you haven’t done your own for the day. They are number one and two in the world, do what you see they are doing. They put it into their running, so I had to take their mentality so that I can be successful too.”

#Having been to the bottom of her career, coupled with a series of injuries, Strachan said she decided to take a more unified approach to her training and it’s now paying off because she’s running faster now than she did in 2013.

#With the Olympics postponed for another year, Strachan said she can look at improving her times now so that she can be more comfortable and when the season swings into full gear, she will be better prepared.

#“Next year, I can put this same work ethic into getting ready for the Olympics,” she projected.

#“So even though the season hasn’t come to an end yet, I should be able to produce the same type of times when next year come around.

#“I know next year will be close to a normal season. 2020 was one of the most stressful track and field seasons. This has been more stressful than getting through an injury. With an injury, I know I could treat this or that, but there is no recovery phase for what we are going through with this pandemic.”

#Under the Puma contract, Strachan said she’s making the best of her situation with MVP.

#“I don’t regret coming to Jamaica and training here because right now, I’m doing better than I ever did before,” she summed up. “I feel much better as well.”

#This weekend, Strachan will be back in action, but she’s not sure whether it will be in the 100 or 200, or both. She’s just looking forward to continuing her progress in her bid to be the elite sprinter that she was primed to be.

Monday, August 10, 2020

Marc Bircham

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#FORMER Queens Park Rangers captain Marc Bircham, having dealt with a court matter that sidelined his trip here, is confirmed as the Bahamas Football Association’s new technical director.

#He will fill a void left by Garry Markham last year.

#Although the BFA had hoped to complete the deal in March, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic delayed the process then on his way here in May, Bircham was arrested by police in St Petersburg, Florida on suspicion of aggravated battery.

#While it’s understood that Bircham has been cleared of all charges, he’s still not in the country. But BFA’s general secretary Fred Lunn said they are eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the 42-year-old Londoner.

#He will be coming on an initial two-year contract.

#“He’s not physically here on the island. We’re just taking the right precautions and the direction of the government on when people can come into the country,” said Lunn of Bircham, who is still out of the country due to the Bahamas government closing the border as a result of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

#“Even if he was here, he would be working virtually by Zoom because we’re not allowed to actually go out and physically do any coaching. So with him not being on the island does not affect us because we still can’t open up and play any games.”

#According to Lunn, Bircham brings a vast knowledge and passion for the sport with a strong background in youth development based on his European experience as a former professional player for Queen Park Rangers (QPR) and youth development manager.

#In his new role as technical director, his primary focus will be on developing grassroots and women’s football at all levels throughout the Bahamas.

#Bircham will also guide the growth and development of football in the Bahamas across multi competitive platforms for youth, men and women’s national teams.

#“He will be here to develop football in the country,” Lunn said. “He will be working with the Ministry of Sports and Ministry of Education and with our clubs. He will be working with the youth right up to the adult leagues.

#“He has a large responsibility, but when you look at his credentials, you can see that he comes to us highly regarded in terms of developing programmes for coaches and players.”

#By accepting the job, Lunn said they are confident that Bircham can come in and redirect the programme in the direction that the BFA needs it to go as they follow the guidelines as outlined by FIFA, the governing body for soccer around the world.

#Lunn said Bircham will also have the opportunity to work with the men’s national team as they prepare for the CONCACAF Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup QATAR 2022 during the window of October and November 2020. “We are placed at a difficult situation where we might be actually going into a tournament where we are not 100 per cent prepared physically, or mentally having an opportunity to train with the guys,” said Lunn of the team that will be coached by Nesley Jean.

#“The competition from some of those countries are much better than ours because they are allowed to travel.

#“We’re a little at a disadvantage, but we’re hopeful that this will be worked out in another month or so for the national team to at least work outs and hopefully we can get all of football back in action.”

#The Bahamas will be one of 30 teams in the new CONCACAF Qualifiers with three rounds for three and-a-half World Cup slots.

Monday, August 10, 2020

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#IN a decision that will affect several Bahamian student athletes, both NCAA Division II and Division III have cancelled their 2020 Fall championships.

#The Presidents Council for each division made official announcements based on challenges stemming from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

#NCAA fall sports include men’s and women’s soccer, football, field hockey and women’s volleyball.

#“After reviewing and discussing the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council made the difficult decision that holding fall championships in any capacity was not a viable or fiscally responsible option for Division II,” said Sandra Jordan, chancellor of South Carolina Aiken and chair of the council.

#Division II will allow student athletes “to retain the use of a season of competition if their team completes 50 per cent or less of the sport’s Bylaw 17 maximum contests/dates of competition for the 2020-21 academic year. Additionally, student athletes who qualify for the season of competition waiver, or whose institutions cancel the sport season entirely, will receive an extension of their 10 semesters/15 quarters of eligibility, provided the student athlete was otherwise eligible for competition during the 2020-21 academic year.

#The Division III Presidents Council reached the same decision due to “administrative and financial challenges.”

#Tori Murden McClure, chair of the Presidents Council, said: “Looking at the health and safety challenges we face this fall during this unprecedented time, we had to make this tough decision to cancel championships for fall sports this academic year in the best interest of our student athletes and member institutions,” he said.

#“Our Management Council reached the same conclusion. Moving forward, we will try to maximise the championships experience for our winter and spring sport student athletes, who unfortunately were short-changed last academic year.”

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Iesha Shepherd

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#WITH the collegiate sports programmes taking shape in the landscape of the coronavirus pandemic, tennis player Iesha Shepherd will be one of those Bahamian student-athletes who will be staying at home until January.

#Shepherd, one of the top female players in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association, should have already reported to Jackson State University to begin her senior year with the Tigers tennis team. But JSU advised all of their international students last week to stay at home until January and continue their studies online, due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the United States.

#The 21-year-old Shepherd, who transferred from Chicago State University, feels the move will benefit her in the long run as she will still have a chance as a junior to play tennis, although she will be a senior academically with her major in accounting.

#While she will be preparing to graduate in May, Shepherd said she will have the luxury of returning to JSU to complete her senior year and at the same time pursue her master’s degree.

#“It’s good and bad, but I’m okay,” said Shepherd, whose classes will commence next week.

#“I’m managing because I did online in high school when I left Queen’s College, so everything is fine. I’m just glad to be home. I haven’t been home this long in about six years.”

#Shepherd, who at the age of 16 left QC for California where she participated in Long Springs International, enrolled in their online classes as she pursued tennis.

#“This is probably like nine months that I will be home until December,” she stated.

#“I feel lost because I haven’t done it in a long time, so I’m still trying to find how I can enjoy this.

#“I’m really in my room during the lockdown, having just finished my summer classes two weeks ago so it’s mind-boggling.”

#Instead of going through her offseason routine to get ready for the upcoming season and juggling her time with her classes, Shepherd said she’s adjusting to the new norm that she’s engaged in.

#“I know the bigger picture and I realise all that is going on,”’ she said as she reflected on the pandemic.

#“My body needs this break. I’m feeling stronger because I’m more relaxed. I think this is good and bad for me.

#“At least I’m taking my vitamins on time to deal with my asthma, I’m learning how to play my guitar again, I’m starting yoga and I’m spending more time with my dog, Star, but I think the most important thing is my mom and my parents are happy that I don’t have to travel right now.”

#Shepherd, the daughter of Vernita Ellis-Daley and Ivan Shepherd, said she has been instructed by the coaching staff at JSU to continue to work on her game so that she can be in her typical playing condition when she reports to school in January.

#“We have a group chat called the SWAT chat and we have two of our personal trainers and our head coach and our assistant coach in the group with our team-mates, so we are constantly in touch with each other,” Shepherd said.

#“So since March when school shut down because of the coronavirus, they have been on us. Literally, there is a new workout session every day and nutritional facts of what we have to do during the quarantine period at home.”

#With a Nike app to monitor the required time they take to train on a personal level, Shepherd said their conditions will show whether or not they are ready to play when they return to school.

#“We are on scholarships, so the least they expect for us to do is to keep our bodies in tact because once January starts, we will have to compete against each other to see what’s the line-up,” she pointed out.

#“So if you are not in shape, you will not be in the line-up.

#“So what’s your purpose being there. They are constantly on you, reminding you what you have to eat and what exercises need to be done, so they are on us to show that they care and they want the best out of us.”

#Listed as the number two seeds in their conference when they started the season, which was called off in March before they could play because of the coronavirus, Shepherd said they had a chance to win the title, but they will never know.

#“We were looking at the possibility of winning the title and going to the NCAA Championships and then this whole outburst happened,” reflected Shepherd, who was listed at number two on the team in singles and was also included in doubles.

#Prior to going off to school, Shepherd has enjoyed a wealth of success as the former junior national champion, having won the 2015 BLTA Giorgio Baldacci National Tennis Open at the National Tennis Centre to earn her third berth on the Fed Cup, adding to her initial appearance in 2014 and her last in 2017.

#She’s hoping that when she’s done with her collegiate career, she will begin to make her mark as a senior player on the international tour.

#If that doesn’t work out, Shepherd is hoping her accounting degree will propel her into the job market.

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Buddy Hield

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#THE Sacramento Kings have been eliminated from playoff contention for the 14th consecutive season.

#Buddy Hield had his best shooting performance of the NBA seeding games thus far with 16 points on 6-11 shooting (4-9 from three), but the Kings lost 129-112 to the Houston Rockets Sunday night in Orlando, Florida.

#Sacramento fell to just 1-5 in the bubble and were officially eliminated from the postseason by halftime of their game once the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers.

#The Kings are the third team to be eliminated from playoff contention in Orlando thus far, joining the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards.

#The Kings’ postseason drought is second only to the Los Angeles Clippers who missed the playoffs for 15 consecutive years.

#Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kings went on a surprising 13-7 win streak to work their way back into the playoff picture that was followed by a series of underwhelming performances in Orlando.

#“We have to understand and change our mindset as far as what it takes to win,” said Kings head coach Luke Walton.

#“We have a very good group of guys and the main thing I hope we take from this whole bubble experience is learning that lesson firsthand.”

#The Kings conclude their 2019-20 season against the New Orleans Pelicans (August 11), and Los Angeles Lakers (August 13).

#“I fully expect our main guys to play and to play at a hard level,” Walton said. “These are two more great opportunities for us. We have to be ready to go and take advantage of this opportunity.”

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chris Paul (3) is pressured by Phoenix Suns’ Deandre Ayton during the third quarter in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Pool Photo via AP)

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#The Phoenix Suns had some nervous moments early on with Deandre Ayton on the sidelines but were able to right the ship and keep their undefeated streak alive in the NBA bubble.

#Ayton came off the bench to finish with 10 points and six rebounds in just 17 minutes to help the Suns improve to 6-0 with a 128-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

#The second year centre missed his COVID-19 testing window on Sunday but was able to rejoin the team after he returned a negative test yesterday afternoon.

#Suns head coach Monty Williams told reporters Ayton made an “innocent mistake” by missing his testing window.

#“You get confused by it (getting tested every day). You have to give people grace,” he said. “He’s not the only one who’s done that since we’ve been here.”

#Ayton arrived at the arena with the game in progress and watched the entire first quarter from the sidelines, periodically on a stationary bike while the Suns fell behind by as much as 15 points.

#He entered the game in the second quarter, scored four points on a Phoenix run that cut the lead to four (49-45 ) on a Cameron Johnson four-point play.

#Once the Suns returned to full strength with Ayton in the lineup, they dominated the remainder of the game and outscored the shorthanded Thunder 42-27 in the second, 33-17 in the third and 30-20 in the fourth.

#The only undefeated team in Orlando, the Suns have two seeding games left in the regular season.

#They complete a back-to-back today against the Philadelphia 76ers and close out against the Dallas Mavericks for a second time on August 13.

#At 32-39, Phoenix is now one game behind the Memphis Grizzlies (33-38) for the No.8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They are also just 0.5 game behind the Portland Trail Blazers (33-39) for the No. 9 spot.

#The remaining schedule for the Grizzlies includes matchups against the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks while the Trail Blazers will face the Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets.

Heat’s Bam Adebayo (13) is fouled by Suns’ Deandre Ayton during the second half on Saturday night in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

As of Monday, August 10, 2020

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#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#THE Phoenix Suns are the lone undefeated team at the NBA restart in Orlando, Florida.

#The Suns improved to 5-0 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with a 119-112 win over the Miami Heat Saturday night.

#Deandre Ayton posted his third double double in thefive-game stretch – 18 points and 12 rebounds.

#“Coach Monty [Williams] built a culture in us in this bubble and throughout the whole quarantine,” Ayton said on ESPN’s The Jump.

#“Just instilling sharing the ball playing for each other and playing as a unit when stuff don’t go our way.”

#Phoenix began the restart to the regular season last among qualifiers in the Western Conference at No.13 and the second worst record among all teams invited to Orlando.

#At 31-39, Phoenix is now two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No.8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They are also just 0.5 game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 9 spot.

#If the No.9 seed is more than four games behind the No.8 seed, No. 8 will make the playoffs. If they are fewer than four games behind, the teams will compete in a play-in tournament for the final spot.

#“I just think we had a group who wanted to come here and prove they were worthy of being here,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “They heard a lot of stuff that was being said.”

#The bubble has also represented an historic stretch for the team who is in the midst of its first five-game winning streak since 2014.

#The Suns have scored wins over the Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Indiana Pacers before beating Miami.

#The remainder of the seeding schedule for the Suns includes matchups against the Oklahoma City Thunder (August 10), Philadelphia 76ers (August 11), and the Mavericks for a second time (August 13).

#Suns General Manager James Jones discussed the development of Ayton on Arizona Sports’ Bickley and Marotta Show.

#“He’s bouncing back from play to play. You can see he has some tough stretches and he bounces back. He had some great defensive possessions and he turns that into a great offensive possession. He’s building on the, I say, basketball instances. A read or a coverage, he’s quarterbacking the backside of the defence,” Jones said.

#“We always want more. People always want more because you see his ceiling, you see his potential. If you take the long approach, every day, every game, every practice, getting him to be consistent, it’ll take care of itself.

#“He’s learning how to pick his spots offensively and defensively. That’s something tough for big guys, because we ask the big guys to do the dirty work. We ask them to screen, we ask them to roll, we ask them to collapse the paint. We ask them to sacrifice and not touch the ball.”