Phoenix Suns on fire, but how far will they go?

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – The Phoenix Suns are having an impressive season in the 2021-22 NBA campaign as they recently bagged their 17th consecutive win to tie their franchise record set in the mid-2000s.

The Suns previously had their best run of straight wins in the 2006-07 NBA season.

Their winning streak started on Dec. 29, 2006, when Phoenix beat the New York Knicks 108-86 at home.

The Western Conference franchise's flawless run continued until Jan. 29, 2007, when the Suns lost against a Kevin Garnett-led Minnesota Timberwolves 121-112 in Minnesota.

The Suns on Tuesday clinched a 104-96 victory against the Golden State Warriors to extend their winning streak to 17 games in the 2021-22 campaign.

Phoenix started this season with a 110-98 loss to the Denver Nuggets at the Footprint Center. Then they visited the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the 2020 champions 115-105 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Following their victory over the Lakers, the Suns were handed two consecutive losses: 134-105 against the Portland Trail Blazers and 110-107 against the Sacramento Kings.

Phoenix's perfect run started on Oct. 30, when they toppled the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-92 at home.

The Suns started with 1-3, which was a disappointing performance, but then improved to 18-3 to top the Western Conference standings.

Phoenix, who won all their games in November, are battling former champions the Warriors in the West, who are currently in second spot.

Like the Suns, the Golden State have an 18-3 win/loss record.

In the next fixture, the Suns will host the Detroit Pistons on Thursday for a possible 18-0 run, and then will visit the Warriors in San Francisco on Friday, one of the difficult tasks for the Phoenix.

It is uncertain who will halt Phoenix this season but they are on cloud nine for their superb form.

- Booker, Paul, Ayton join powers to carry Suns

This season the Suns trio – guards Devin Booker and Chris Paul, and center Deandre Ayton – are the main pillars of the team.

Suns star Booker, 25, averaged 23.2 points in 21 games to be his team's high in this category.

Meanwhile Paul, who is one of the NBA's experienced guards, plays with 10.1 assists per game in the 2021-22 season.

The 36-year-old point guard also averaged 14.5 points in 21 matches this season.

Additionally, Ayton played in 15 games but he is the team leader in rebounds.

Ayton averaged 11.5 rebounds and 16 points per game.

Nevertheless, the Phoenix have a long way to go to break the NBA's all-time straight win record, which belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers.

- Lakers still hold all-time winning streak record

The Lakers won 33 games in a row in the 1971-72 season (from Nov. 5, 1971 to Jan. 9, 1972) to be the record holder in this field for almost 50 years.

The LA Lakers beat the Baltimore Bullets – an inactive franchise now – 110-106 to start their two-month winning run.

It was ended by the Milwaukee Bucks in early 1972 by 120-104.

The Lakers became the 1972 NBA champions in the season when they broke this record.

- Miami had 27, Golden State bagged 24 straight wins in previous years

In the 2012-13 season, the Miami Heat from the Eastern Conference bagged 27 straight wins from Feb. 3 to March 27, 2013.

The 2013 NBA winners Heat toppled the Toronto Raptors 100-85 to begin the winning series.

But the Chicago Bulls snapped Miami's 27-game winning streak, beating them 101-97 in late March.

The Stephen Curry-led Golden State Warriors, who were the 2015 champions, won 24 games in a row in the NBA's 2015-16 season, making a flying start.

They did not win the title in 2016 but had an emphatic form with a 24-0 run.

The Warriors began the 2015-16 NBA season by winning their first 24 games until December.

On Dec. 12, 2015, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the former champions 108-95 in Milwaukee to end their excellent run.

In the 2007-08 season, the Houston Rockets had 22 straight wins in an almost two-month period.

On Jan. 29, 2008, the Rockets began their series with a 111-107 win against the Warriors.

Their 22-game run was stopped by the 2008 champions Boston Celtics.

The Celtics hammered the Rockets 94-74 on March 18, 2008.

Another Eastern Conference franchise, the Milwaukee Bucks, had a 20-game winning run in the NBA in 1971.

The Bucks beat the San Francisco Warriors 111-85 on Feb. 6, 1971 to start their winning streak.

Before the 1971-72 season, the San Francisco Warriors were renamed the Golden State Warriors.

Milwaukee's 20-game winning streak, which lasted for a month, was snapped by the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls beat the Bucks 110-103 on March 9, 1971 to end their win run.