Fansided

Derrick Jones Jr. completes vicious left-handed alley-oop

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 15, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Derrick Jones Jr. following the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Lakers 137-101. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Derrick Jones Jr. following the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Lakers 137-101. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Derrick Jones Jr. lived up to his “Airplane Mode” nickname Thursday night, throwing down a vicious left-handed alley-oop against the Charlotte Hornets.

The Phoenix Suns may have been tied for the worst record in the Western Conference entering Thursday night’s NBA action, and Derrick Jones Jr. may have lost the 2017 Slam Dunk Contest after being pegged as a dark horse, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing good to watch out in the desert.

With the Suns facing a Charlotte Hornets team that had lost 20 of its last 27 games, there was a rare opportunity for a home victory for Earl Watson’s squad.

There was also an opportunity for Jones to remind people why his nickname is Airplane Mode.

It’s no secret that this 20-year-old swingman has hops, but after watching him come up short in the Slam Dunk Contest, most NBA fans wrote him off as irrelevant again, assuming the frequent D-League visitor would spend very little time actually on the court for the Suns.

But with Phoenix entering the home stretch and Watson giving more playing time to the youngsters by starting Alex Len, playing Tyler Ulis over Brandon Knight and giving rotation minutes to Alan Williams and Derrick Jones Jr., the opportunities for highlight plays like that one have been plentiful.

With Ulis running the break, Jones streaked down the court, rose above the rim as he is prone to do, caught the ball with his left and and threw it down in one beautiful motion.

Though the Hornets needed a win and the Suns needed a loss as they dive further into a youth movement that goes hand-in-hand with #TeamTank, it has been fun to see this inexperienced core play more competitive basketball since the All-Star break, when they traded away defensive ace P.J. Tucker.

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Thursday night’s double-digit win over Charlotte moved Phoenix ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference standings, which is bad news. However, wins have been hard to come by for this Suns squad lately, and even when the L’s start stacking up again, at least the fans will have highlight plays like these to look forward to.

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