Monty Williams Praises 'Pretty Thick' Tension at Suns Practice After Game 3 Loss

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns 103-94 in the third game of the series.

Suns head coach Monty Williams told reporters after Saturday's practice that there was a lot of tension among his players who were still upset about Friday's loss.

Williams said that they like guys that have a level of chippiness, that they love guys that are competitive, and that they love the tension in the gym after they lose a game.

While many teams try to forget about a tough loss quickly, Williams said that focusing on defeat allows his players to regroup for the game ahead:

"When you're a sore loser, you're a sore loser. That's just the way it is. I don't see anybody in the playoffs that's like, 'Man, I just love the way we lost today.' I just don't see that. ... You hate losing and you bring it to the gym the next day. Your food doesn't taste as good, there's an attitude with it. But it also has to be channeled the right way."

The Suns struggled on Friday night. No one reached the 20-point mark, with the closest being 19 points by Jae Crowder. The two stars finished with 18 and 12 points, respectively.

Booker averaged 24.4 points per game in the playoffs, while Paul averaged 22.6 points per game.

The Suns can punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row if they win Game 4 on Tuesday.

Suns veteran Mikal Bridges told reporters that the team has tried to avoid losing two straight games all season, and that will not change when it takes the floor Sunday:

"We all like to win. Nobody likes to lose. It’s every single person in this gym. We try not to lose two in a row ever whether it’s the regular season or playoffs. Just that feeling after losing, it doesn’t feel right. We all take it personal just in a way where we don’t like that feeling and just go out there and try to get a win the next game."

The Suns have lost back-to-back games four times this season, the most recent being on April 1 against Memphis and April 3 against Oklahoma City. There is no reason to believe that the team will not bounce back in Game 4.