Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen celebrated his 28th birthday on Sunday in style.

Allen, who was traded to the Suns fewer than two weeks ago, was the main contributor off the bench in the team's 130-126 overtime win over the Detroit Pistons in their preseason opener at Little Caesars Arena.

Allen led the Suns with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting (3-of-6 from 3-point range), three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Allen, who started 70 of 72 games played this past season for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks, figures to be a key player behind Suns stars Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

“It's a lot of fun,” Allen told Arizona's Family after the win about playing next to Phoenix's big three. “The ball is moving, guys are moving, switching sides, getting a lot of great looks. A lot of ball movement, a lot of drive-and-kick stuff.

“It's a lot of fun playing with guys that are as unselfish as they are.”

Allen was one of the Suns' first two players (guard Eric Gordon) off the bench in the first quarter. He was not shy on offense, scoring his first points off a dribble hand-off. Minutes later, he had an up-and-under move in transition that showed his confidence inside the paint.

Allen is known for his 3-point shooting. But he said he has been confident in his pursuit of the basket for a while.

“When I first got to Duke in college, that's when (former) coach [Mike Krzyzewski] was like, ‘You're a driver,'” Allen said. “So I didn't really develop into a shooter after that. Now in the NBA, shooting has definitely become my strength. So every now and then, I got to keep showing that I can drive the ball, keep the defense honest.”

Allen also was a solid passer in the game. He hit Phoenix forward Yuta Watanabe for a corner 3-pointer as an out-of-bounds passer.

Allen spoke with AZCentral.com's Duane Rankin postgame. You can watch clips Rankin posted of their interview below.

The Suns jumped out to a blistering hot start offensively. They led the Pistons 46-29 after the first quarter and shot 17-of-20 from the field.

“That's just what happens when everything clicks,” Allen told Rankin. “I don't want to jinx it, but I have a feeling that's going to happen a lot.”