The Suns win the crippled ball against the Spurs

no Jalen Green, Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn or Rasheer Fleming on one side, Victor Vembanyama, Stephen Castle etc Dylan Harper on the other hand. And the absentees further punished the Spurs, coming up short in Phoenix on Sunday night (111-102).

San Antonio, however, got off to a good start in Arizona. Aggressive, Mitch Johnson’s players applied good defensive pressure at the start of the match. The Suns struggle to find good positions and miss shots, Dillon Brooks leading by 2/9 with nine minutes to go in the match. The Texans have the same aggressiveness, provocative near the circle to get free throws (13-21). For Phoenix, even Devin Booker suffers and misses a dunk on the counterattack. So the lieutenants are the ones in charge Isaiah Livers, Very Ighodaro, Jordan Goodwin etc Collin Gillespie 12-2 starters to start the match in Phoenix.

Instead, it has the merit of awakening visitors. And again, other knives are the main ones. Beginner Carter Bryant makes an interesting entry, well supported by Luke Cornet or Julian Champagne. The Suns’ defense is a bit suspect at times, and San Antonio is relaxing (34-45). The first period is not always for aesthetes, so De’Aaron Fox leading scorer at the break thanks to his 13 points including eight shots. San Antonio leads (49-56) at rest.

The Phoenix defense changes everything

Struggling with the outside shot until then, Phoenix finally found the skill he had been missing. Roy O’Neal and Dillon Brooks bring the Sun closer, and Mark Williams finishes the job: everything has to be repeated after barely three minutes in the second period.

The home team raise their voice in defense and change the dynamics of the game. San Antonio is caught by the throat and constantly loses the ball. Devin Vassell is alone in finding solutions (13 of his team’s 24 points in this quarter), quite the opposite of the Suns. Booker, Williams (21 points between them), Brooks… Everyone is in rhythm now. Arizona football players passed with a score of 37-24 and took control of the match (86-80).

The Goodwin-Gillespie duo continues this good momentum and allows executives to breathe easy. Even with De’Aaron Fox on the floor, San Antonio is struggling. And the deficit reached up to 13 points on Gillespie’s new basket, definitely in excellent form. Phoenix is ​​going, even if Fox (26 points) tries everything he can to keep his team. But Brooks (25 points) has the last word with two outside shots, and the Suns can afford to score only one point in the last three minutes.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– Half time change for the Suns. Shot rested but dominated, Jordan Ott’s men returned to the floor with much better defensive intensity, limiting San Antonio to 40% shooting in the second period with 11 turnovers. Creating rhythm and sowing doubt, the formula paid off, as on the contrary, Phoenix increased its skill from 35.8% in the first two quarters to 54.5% in the next two.

– Phoenix is ​​getting closer to Spurs in the standings. This victory, the third in a row, allows the franchise from Arizona to stay in the Top 6 in the West (11 wins – 6 losses), although we obviously did not expect it so high. The end of the series on the other side for San Antonio, who remained at three wins without Victor Wembanyama and sees his evening tormentor now close behind him in the hierarchy (11-5).

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