The much-awaited return of Bradley Beal to the lineup against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night did not go as seamlessly as the Phoenix Suns had planned. Beal struggled, shooting just 3-12 from the field in 24 minutes of play, and the Bulls kept on knocking on the Suns' door, even forcing overtime via a DeMar DeRozan layup. But in overtime, it was Jusuf Nurkic who ended up stealing the show, helping the Suns to victory with a strong two-way display.

With 18 seconds to go and Nikola Vucevic on the block and the Bulls leading by one, the Suns' starting center came up with a huge steal, swiping away from behind Vucevic to give his team a chance to take the lead on the other end. And this is exactly what Nurkic did. With the Bulls determined to get the ball out of Kevin Durant's hands, doubling him near the three-point line to force him to give the ball up, Nurkic ended up facing DeRozan at the rim. Nurkic, armed with a size advantage over DeRozan, softly threw in a floater off the glass to give the Suns a 116-115 lead that they would not relinquish.

Via ClutchPoints Twitter (X):

This was merely the culmination of all of Jusuf Nurkic's hard work on the night, battling against Nikola Vucevic all night long all the while crashing the glass with relentless intensity and being a useful outlet for Kevin Durant and the Suns off of screening actions. Nurkic finished the night with 20 points, 17 rebounds, and eight assists, paying off the Suns' trust in him in a huge way as they escaped United Center with a huge win.

Of course, Nurkic's shot didn't exactly seal the game; the Bulls still had an opportunity to regain the lead, with DeMar DeRozan, despite his shooting struggles on the night, looming as a danger to sink in a dagger given his track record for Chicago. DeRozan, however, settled for a difficult midrange fallaway, which clanked off the rim.

Nevertheless, this is exactly the kind of performance the Suns need from their support guys as they await Bradley Beal's return to tip-top condition and Devin Booker's recovery from injury.