Dragan Bender and Josh Jackson were fourth overall picks in the draft — Bender in 2016, Jackson last year.
Both are just 20 years old and the jury is out on whether they deserved to go that high.
They sure looked good on Sunday, though.
Bender scored 17 of his career-high 20 points in the second half, and Jackson had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first double-double of his rookie season as the Phoenix reserves played a big role in the Suns’ 114-100 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“We’re trying to develop young players here and they both stepped up big-time today,” Suns interim coach Jay Triano said. “I thought they played really well together. Josh would drive and kick, and find Dragan on the perimeter, and I think there’s a comfort level really developing with those two.”
Bender made a career-best six three-pointers, going five of six in the second half, as the Suns beat the Thunder for the third straight time dating to last season, with all three wins coming in Phoenix.
Russell Westbrook had his 14th triple-double of the season and second in a row with 26 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but Oklahoma City never led after the first quarter.
Paul George added 19 points and Steven Adams 18 for the Thunder.
Devin Booker scored 26 and T.J. Warren 23 for Phoenix.
The Suns made a season-high 17 three-pointers in 39 attempts, while Oklahoma City were eight of 27.
“We like the way we played,” Triano said. “We shot a lot of threes, which is what we want to do. We got into our drive-and-kick game. I thought we were solid defensively. I think they missed a bunch of shots as well. This is a game that we feel really good about and it’s a step for us.”
Booker’s three-pointer gave Phoenix a 74-60 lead with 7 minutes, 56 seconds left in the third, but the Thunder responded with a 15-2 run.
Westbrook made one of two free throws to cap the outburst and cut the lead to 76-75 with 5:03 left in the period.
Bender’s three-pointer ignited a 14-4 Suns surge, Jackson’s three-pointer boosting the lead to 90-79 with 32 seconds left in the quarter.
Carmelo Anthony’s three-point play cut the lead to 90-82.
Bender sank two more threes to start a 14-2 outburst that put Phoenix up 107-89 after Tyler Ulis’ three-pointer with 6:42 remaining.
“All my threes in the second half were wide-open threes,” Bender said. “We moved the ball really well. They gave us some open shots.”
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