Phoenix Suns rookie Khaman Maluach made personal history Sunday by knocking down his first career NBA 3-pointer in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 7-foot-1 center’s hit also doubled as the Suns’ first 3, the team combining to miss its first 11 attempts.
Besides the deep ball being an oddity for the big, the first-half minutes were almost equally as rare. Sunday marked just his second time this season getting run in the opening half of an NBA game.
The only other time was on Oct. 25 against the Denver Nuggets, in which he played 12:39 and scored a career-high six points.
As Jalen Green, the double-overtime hero against the Orlando Magic a night ago, received a hand-off pass from Oso Ighodaro, Maluach calmly stood in the corner.
Green hit him and Maluach didn’t hesitate, with a smooth release and a slight rattle through the hoop.
MALUACH pic.twitter.com/INIiVnwr6E
— Cage (@ridiculouscage) February 23, 2026
The 19-year-old out of Duke entered the game 0 for 8 on NBA 3s while posting 30.8% 3-point shooting in 10 G League games, where Maluach has gotten a majority of his run.
Phoenix’s only other 3 of the half came out of the hands of another rookie in Rasheer Fleming. He entered Sunday 12 for 48 (25%) from 3 in 31 games played.
Phoenix scored a season-low 40 points in the first half — 2 for 19 from 3 — and trailed Portland by seven.
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