UNC Basketball: Suns blow out Pelicans behind Cam Johnson’s 18 points

Former UNC basketball standout Cameron Johnson scored 18 points off the Phoenix Suns’ bench en route to a 111-86 blowout of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Phoenix Suns second-year reserve Cameron Johnson came off the bench on Tuesday night to score 18 points in a 111-86 blowout of the New Orleans Pelicans. The former Tar Heel connected on 6-of-13 shots for the game, including 4-of-10 from three-point range and 2-of-2 at the free throw line.

An obvious standout among the Suns’ non-starters, Johnson has scored double-digit points in three of the team’s first four games of the 2020-21 season. And he’s doing so with an incredible amount of efficiency. Through the first week of his sophomore campaign in Phoenix, Johnson is averaging 15.5 points per game on just 23.5 minutes a night. He’s hitting better than 51 percent of his shots overall, and 40 percent from beyond the arc. He’s also yet to miss a free throw, sitting at 10-for-10 on the young season.

Maybe even more impressive is that Johnson has played virtually mistake-free basketball to this point. The 6-foot-8, 210-pound wing is committing just 1.5 fouls per game, and hasn’t turned the ball over once in 94 minutes of play. The Suns would like to see him get his hands on a few more rebounds — he’s averaging just 2.5 boards per game to this point — but his ability to score and take care of the basketball has been uncanny. He continues to prove the Phoenix front office right for selecting him with their 11th pick in the 2019 draft.

Johnson and the Suns will take the court again on Thursday night when they face off with the Utah Jazz for a New Year’s Eve matchup in Salt Lake City.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Cameron Johnson, and UNC basketball alumni throughout the NBA.