PHOENIX SUNS

Suns Strokes: Suns fall short against depleted Spurs

Dec 9, 2017, 11:05 PM | Updated: Dec 10, 2017, 7:06 pm

San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills, left, dribbles the ball between his legs as Phoenix Suns' Tyle...

San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills, left, dribbles the ball between his legs as Phoenix Suns' Tyler Ulis defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017, in Phoenix. The Spurs defeated the Suns 104-101. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)

(AP Photo/Ralph Freso)

PHOENIX — Without Devin Booker on the floor, the Phoenix Suns lack an experienced, late-game performer.

Mike James did his best to fill Booker’s shoes, but his attempt at a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left came up short as did the Suns’ attempt at a win. They lost their third in a row, falling 104-101 to a short-handed San Antonio team in front of an announced crowd of 16,575 at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Saturday.

James had the hot hand but the play was designed for T.J. Warren not a 29-foot pull-up shot, according to interim head coach Jay Triano.

The Suns trailed by one when James misfired.

That the Suns were even in position to win was because of James. He scored 10 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. Warren added 24, 19 coming in the second half, when the Suns battled back from a 19-point deficit to briefly take the lead.

The Suns outscored the Spurs, 62-52, in the second half.

It was the first half, however, where the game was lost.

Grabbing 13 offensive rebounds, the Spurs scored 14 second-chance points and led, 52-39, in what was one of the poorer halves of basketball the Suns have played this season.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Patty Mills each had 20 points to pace the Spurs (19-8), who won for the second time in as many nights and the fourth straight game overall.

They’ve beaten the Suns (9-19) now in 11 of the last 12 meetings.

THE GOOD

Of the Suns’ 15 made field goals in the first half—they attempted 41—three belonged to Troy Daniels, who came off the bench to lead the team in scoring. He had seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. The Suns’ reserves actually outscored the starters, 21-18, through the first two quarters.

Held scoreless and without an assist in the first half, Tyler Ulis had four points and two assists in less than five minutes to begin the third quarter. Later, with James running the offense, the Suns went on a 17-4 run to pull to within 71-69 at the 52.3 mark. Warren accounted for 11 of the 17 points.

In his Suns debut, and in just his second-ever appearance in an NBA game, Danuel House recorded his first career points. He hit a seven-foot pull-up jumper at the 8:25 mark of the second quarter. House finished with those two points on 1-of-3 shooting and one rebound in 11 minutes.

THE BAD

It took the Suns nearly six minutes before their first made field goal. By then, they were already down eight (10-2, Spurs with eight second-chance points) and had committed four turnovers. And it would get worse. Later, the Spurs went on an 11-0 run (Davis Bertans scored eight points) to go up, 23-9, at the 2:19 mark of the first quarter.

This is how bad it got for the Suns in the first half: Dejounte Murray grabbed four offensive rebounds on one possession. Three of the boards came after his own misses. He finally made a layup which put the Spurs up, 44-31, at the 4:16 mark of the second quarter (Suns immediately called timeout). Murray had a game-high 10 rebounds at halftime.

Four minutes into the third quarter and the Spurs had increased their lead to 19. Brandon Paul was the reason why. He made two free throws and followed up with a layup and nine-foot floater; the latter of which put the Spurs ahead, 62-43, at the 8:03 mark. Paul’s six points gave him 10 for the game, three times his season average (3.3).

Included in Mills’ season-high 20 points were a trio of 3-pointers. All three came in the second half, two in the final 10 seconds of the third quarter, which saw the Spurs close on an 8-2 run after the Suns had pulled to within two, 71-69, at the 52.3 mark. Mills also provided the final margin of victory, hitting a pair of free throws with 1.6 seconds to play.

STAT OF THE GAME

52-40: The Spurs’ plus-12 advantage on the boards, included 18 offensive rebounds compared to 10 for the Suns; which resulted in the Spurs outscoring the Suns 22-17 in second-chance points

HE SAID IT

“You can look at who’s not here, but also look who’s here,” Triano said. “LaMarcus Aldridge is an all-star, Rudy Gay is an all-star. I mean, so, if we’re looking beyond two all-stars and who we are as a young team then something’s wrong.”

NOTED

James had his third career 20+ point game; he’s the first Suns rookie with multiple games of 25+ points off the bench since Richard Dumas in 1992.

Daniels finished with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting including two 3s; it’s his third straight game in double digits, tying his longest streak of the season.

Marquese Chriss (15 points) recorded back-to-back games in double digits for the first time this season; he also added eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

Alex Len (right knee hyperextension) was a DNP-Coach’s Decision; he was available though Triano said pregame Len would play “based on need.”

Booker (groin strain), Brandon Knight (left ACL tear), Davon Reed (left meniscus tear) and Alan Williams (right meniscus repair) were listed inactive.

The Spurs played without Kyle Anderson, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker because of either injury or rest.

The Suns hosted “Decade Night” honoring the 1980s of the franchise, including appearances from Alvan Adams, Walter Davis and Tom Chambers.

As part of “Decade Night”, Young MC performed at halftime while the first 5,000 fans in attendance received an exclusive bobblehead of Chambers.

UP NEXT

After back-to-back home games, the Suns will hit the road.

They travel to Golden 1 Center to take on De’Aaron Fox, Bobby Hield and Zach Randolph of the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

It’s the second meeting of the season.

The Suns were victorious in that first matchup, 117-115, in Triano’s first game as coach behind Booker’s 22 points.

Overall, the Suns have won 11 of the last 24 in the series.

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