EMPIRE OF THE SUNS

Alex Len dunks twice on man, myth and legend, Boban Marjanovic

Jan 21, 2016, 10:00 PM | Updated: 11:18 pm

Spurs backup center Boban Marjanovic appears larger than life at this moment.

The 7’3 rookie has quickly become a fan favorite in San Antonio, and they call it Boban Mania.

In other words, everyone is watching every little thing Boban does.

A recent local appearance at a WingStop saw hundreds of fans show up to meet the legend, and one of them did so with Boban’s face etched into his buzzcut. The news wires have noted Marjanovic intimidated opponents with a scary staredown following a dunk earlier in the week, but the 27-year-old found himself on the opposite end of such a play Thursday in Phoenix.

Suns center Alex Len started with the team reeling with injuries at power forward. In just his second game back from a three-game rest due to a hand injury, the 22-year-old big man came out aggressively for the second night in a row.

After hitting a couple of contested turnarounds in the post, Len faced up the slower, older Marjanovic and finished through contact for a highlight-reel dunk.

He wasn’t done there. During the fourth quarter, Len faced up on the opposite block, took a dribble, loaded up and crammed another one on the other very tall human being, who according to Draft Express has a 7’8 wingspan and 9’7 standing reach.

Len finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Marjanovic had career-highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds (he previously had a career-high of 12 rebounds, also against Phoenix) as the Spurs ran away from Phoenix with a 38-20 fourth quarter leading to a 117-89 victory.

Phoenix struggled to produce many things to cheer about having lost 15 of its last 16 games and with only eight healthy players once P.J. Tucker left Thursday’s matchup after taking a Kawhi Leonard knee to the sternum. The young players producing is one thing Suns fans will turn their attention toward these days, and Len wasting little time getting back into the swing of things is one positive takeaway.

Dunking on one of the most popular rookies with a pretty sweet name is a nice little memory from this one.

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Alex Len dunks twice on man, myth and legend, Boban Marjanovic