PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns finally got themselves back in the win column last night against the Orlando Magic, reaching just their second win of the season while handling business at Mortgage Matchup Center, 117-104.

The Suns, in all honesty, were favorites against Orlando, and quite frankly more questions than answers would have been provided if Phoenix somehow fell to a struggling Magic squad without Paolo Banchero.

Still, the Suns handled business.

The three biggest reasons why:

Devin Booker's Continued Success

Booker got hot early and never looked back, pouring in a 30-point performance on 11-22 shooting from the field and 4-8 shooting from three-point land.

The Suns are at their best when Booker is aggressive, especially early, and he knows that:

"I think I got two early threes to start, and then that just opens everything up the rest of the way," Booker said post-game.

"The ability to find people on the backside and get open threes in that way. So trying to take what the defense gives you. When you're being guarded like I do, those actions have to be quick. They have to be on point, you know. So it was great with that."

Booker also tallied eight assists and three steals.

If the Suns are going to be a playoff team, they need Booker to be on top of his game.

That's exactly what he was last night.

Improved Defensive Performance

The Suns established a season-best 104 points allowed to Orlando, which was achieved in garbage time after Phoenix pulled their starters late in the fourth quarter.

Yes, Orlando is a hobbled team that's not exactly an offensive juggernaut — though before Phoenix can slay bigger dragons on the horizon, they needed to defeat the Magic.

Most notably, the Suns forced 25 Orlando turnovers on the night.

“Our activity was in a good place – 14 steals. It always comes down to how you guard their drives. This is an elite driving team, it just looks a little different than last night," Suns coach Jordan Ott said post-game.

"I thought that we were able to contain the ball much better and keep them out of our paint. Which then keeps you out of close outs, which then hopefully puts you in a better spot to defensive rebound. And obviously we need to do that in the first half as well. There will be some things to definitely clean up, but that was a step in the right direction.”

Their Starting Lineup Switch

The Suns insisted on starting Khaman Maluach to start the season, a move that hasn't quite netted instant results.

Many have been clamoring for Ott to plug Oso Ighodaro into the starting lineup amid their struggles, which finally happened on Thursday night.

Maluach finished with a better box score than Ighodaro, though Booker said Ighodaro's presence on the floor does change the dynamic.

"It helps a lot, it keeps the flow of the offense definitely going," Booker said of Ighodaro in the lineup.

"The ability to switch on the defensive end. Obviously, we're giving up some size so we all got to do a little bit more and help him rebound. Overall it's a different pace, not saying one's better than another but it's definitely different and you can feel it when you're out there." 

The Suns should stick with Ighodaro more permanently moving forward.