Phoenix Suns clinch playoff spot with victory over Spurs

The Phoenix Suns punched their ticket to the playoffs on Tuesday night with a 115-94 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Phoenix needed either a win or a Warriors loss to the Thunder to clinch a spot, and the victory secured the Suns’ hold on home-court advantage in the first round.

Catching up to No. 3 seed Sacramento is no longer possible, as the Kings clinched the Pacific Division with a win over the Pelicans on Tuesday.

The Suns will be the No. 4 seed in the West.

Entering Tuesday’s matchup, Phoenix had a 97.5% chance of getting the fourth seed, per Basketball-Reference’s playoff probabilities. The Suns ended the night three games up on the Los Angeles Clippers, who started the day in the No. 5 seed, and 2.5 games ahead of the Warriors, who pulled out a win.

Phoenix never trailed in Tuesday’s affair.

The Suns jumped out ahead of lowly San Antonio 42-25 at the end of the first quarter, shooting 62.5% in the period.

The Spurs got within nine a couple of times in the third quarter, but Phoenix ballooned the lead back up over 20.

Devin Booker dropped 27 points in 33 minutes, while Chris Paul added 22. Six Suns played scored at least 10 points.

Wait for the shrug 🤷

What a half for CP3! pic.twitter.com/lIQlKBJEAk

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) April 5, 2023

The Suns have won six games in a row and are 7-0 with Kevin Durant on the floor.

Phoenix has three games left on the schedule: Thursday vs. the Denver Nuggets, Friday at the L.A. Lakers and Sunday against the Clippers.

The Lakers and Clippers are both in the running for the No. 5 seed and play each other on Wednesday.

The Suns have clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season for the first time since 2006-07. They reached the postseason four straight years from 2004-08.

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