Suns Strokes: Short-handed Phoenix falls to San Antonio

PHOENIX — As if playing the NBA’s second-best team wasn’t hard enough, the Phoenix Suns made it more difficult playing short-handed.

Down four players prior to the game and then losing a fifth just after tip-off, the Suns, despite the limited manpower, hung with the San Antonio Spurs for three quarters before running out of gas late in a 117-89 defeat in front of an announced crowd of 16,779 on ’90s Night at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

The four first-round draft picks that remain on the roster from the past three drafts led the way for the injury-depleted Suns. Devin Booker scored a game-high 24 points, while fellow starting guard Archie Goodwin added 20, setting a new season-high. T.J. Warren chipped in with 18 and Alex Len added 13.

Tyson Chandler grabbed a season-best 20 rebounds, becoming the first Suns player to record a 20-plus rebound game since Miles Plumlee had 20 rebounds on Dec. 23, 2013, against the L.A. Lakers.

Playing without Brandon Knight (groin), Jon Leuer (back spasms), Markieff Morris (shoulder strain) and Mirza Teletovic (ankle sprain), the Suns found themselves down 18 in the first half. They trimmed the deficit to six late in the third quarter but could get no closer with what became an eight-man rotation after starter P.J. Tucker hurt his chest and had to leave the game halfway into the first quarter.

The Suns (13-31) were outscored 38-20 in the fourth quarter as the Spurs shot 65 percent in the period compared to 29 percent for the Suns, who lost their fifth straight game and 15 of their last 16.

For the Spurs (37-6), Kawhi Leonard, named to his first NBA All-Star Game earlier in the day, had 21 points to lead four players in double figures, including both Boban Marjanovic (17) and Jonathan Simmons (13) off the bench, where the Spurs had a 66-24 advantage.

Tim Duncan (rest) and Tony Parker (hip) did not play, yet the Spurs won their sixth straight over the Suns and 12th in a row overall, their longest winning streak of the season.

The final margin of victory marked the sixth time during the streak that the Spurs won by at least 25 points and handed the Suns their fourth defeat of 25 or more.

THE GOOD

Introduced last during pre-game introductions, Booker, coming off a career-high 32-point effort against Indiana, scored the Suns first six points with a 17-foot step back jump shot, 20-foot jumper and four-foot runner on the fastbreak — all in the first five minutes of the game. Booker finished the quarter with a team-high eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, playing all 12 minutes. He also added an assist.

Message received. Benched for a lack of hustle after only three minutes played against Indiana, Warren responded with six of his 10 first-half points in the second quarter. He got his scoring started with a 13-foot jump shot and then later added a six-foot floater and put-back lay-up. Warren, who shot 5-of-9 in the half, also had a rebound and steal in the period, the Suns’ only steal through two quarters.

After missing his first two free throw attempts of the game, Goodwin made eight straight from the foul line in the third quarter, helping the Suns twice pull to within six points. He added a 24-foot 3-pointer for a team-best 11-point period, which also saw Chandler grab nine rebounds, or one more than he had in the entire first half. His 17 rebounds through three quarters tied a season-high.

With 32 and 24 points in back-to-back games, Booker became the first Suns rookie to score that many points in a two-game stretch since Amar’e Stoudemire scored 58 points on Dec. 30, 2002, and Jan. 2, 2003. Booker also became the first teenage player in the NBA to have at least 56 points in a two-game span since Kevin Durant scored 61 combined points on April 13 and 16, 2008.

THE BAD

And then there were eight. Midway through the first quarter, Tucker took a knee to the sternum as he attempted to draw a charge on Leonard. Tucker immediately doubled over. After a few seconds, he struggled to his feet and headed back to the locker room. Tucker later rejoined his teammates on the bench but did not return to action, finishing with no points and one rebound in six minutes.

Up by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, the Spurs extended their lead to 18 midway through the second with a 17-2 run, including a stretch of 13 unanswered points. Leonard scored six of his eight second-quarter points during the run including a pair of dunks. He finished the first half with a team-high 11 points—though he missed seven of his 10 shot attempts—going 5-of-5 from the foul line.

Any momentum the Suns had stalled in the final three minutes of the third quarter. Twice they lost the ball, their first turnovers of the period, and had their only shot attempt blocked—ex-Suns standout Boris Diaw blocked Goodwin’s lay-up—as they went without a field goal the last 2:44. Meanwhile, Marjanovic, the 7-foot-3 center from Serbia, scored five points, including a dunk assisted by Patty Mills.

The first nine points of the fourth quarter were scored by the Spurs, who took advantage of a depleted Suns team, going on a 22-8 run to take a 24-point lead, 101-77, at the 4:23 mark. They would extend that margin to as many as 31 points on two different occasions. Rasual Butler came off the bench to score nine points—three field goals, including a 3 and a pair of free throws—in less than nine minutes.

STAT OF THE GAME

8: The Spurs had eight turnovers that led to only 10 Suns’ points, while forcing 15 turnovers for 23 points off of the Suns. This was their ninth game this season committing less than 10 turnovers, and the Spurs are now 7-2 in those games.

HE SAID IT, part 1

“We said we were going to get to the free throw line if we just keep attacking the basket, and that’s what they did that allowed us to stay in the game,” head coach Jeff Hornacek said. “But then we didn’t get a stop in the fourth quarter and they had a small group in there, which against our big guys is a little tough.”

HE SAID IT, part 2

“I feel badly for the Suns when you’re depleted like that, it makes it difficult,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “They didn’t stop playing, they played hard for Jeff. They were aggressive the whole way. They were just outmanned. It wasn’t a fair fight but their competitiveness was impressive.”

NOTED

– The Suns started their 13th different lineup with the first-ever pairing of Len and Chandler to open a game; they were joined by Tucker with Goodwin, making his second start of the season, and Booker in the backcourt.

– An 8:35 scheduled tip-off became an 8:42 start-time due to the TNT broadcast, which had Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Lewis Johnson on the call. Ot was the Suns’ last scheduled TNT appearance of the season.

– Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson was among those in attendance, taking in the game from a baseline courtside seat. Johnson, remember, is not eligible to return to action until the Super Bowl.

– Sticking with the ’90s Night theme, the game matched the decade’s fourth-winningest team against the tied for fifth-winningest team. The Suns went 509-283 (.643) during the ’90s while the Spurs went 498-295 (.628).

– In what was the first in a series of “Throwback Night” games to celebrate the Suns history, Kevin Eubanks, former leader of the Tonight Show Band, sang the national anthem and Gena Lee Nolin, former cast member of Baywatch, served as an in-arena co-host and interacted with fans throughout the game.

UP NEXT

The three-game homestand ends with a visit from Al Horford, Paul Millsap and the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, Jan. 23. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

It’ll be the first meeting of the season with the Hawks, who won both matchups last season; their first sweep of the Suns since 1991-92.

In the last meeting in the Valley on March 13, 2015, a 96-87 Suns loss, Morris led the team with 22 points (9-of-18 FG) and added a career-high tying five steals.

Overall, the Suns have won 32 of the last 45 games against the Hawks, including 18 of the last 22 at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Related

Why the Cardinals are moving on from Marvin Harrison Jr.Cardinals place Isaiah Adams on injured reserveThe Marvin Harrison Jr. fiasco demands real reform from Michael BidwillIsaiah Mizell’s career day helps Arizona Wildcats blow by West VirginiaWATCH: Marvin Harrison Jr. trade specialCardinals are reportedly finalizing deal to trade Marvin Harrison Jr.