San Antonio met a disappointing demise at the hands of the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. While the Spurs fought valiantly to erase a double-digit second-half deficit, they couldn’t complete the comeback losing 99-103.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting, followed by 16 points from LaMarcus Aldridge, and 13 points from Derrick White. Devin Booker led the way for Phoenix with a 35 point 10 assist double-double, and Dario Saric racked up 20 points for the visiting team.
Observations
• Tonight was the kind of night you hope and pray Devin Booker doesn’t get the ball. The association’s eighth-leading scorer was on fire from the second he set foot on the court, and might have dropped 40 points had he not fouled out in the fourth quarter. He may not be an All-Star yet, but I have a feeling that day is coming sooner than later.
• The Silver and Black led the game by 8 points with 9:11 left in the second quarter, and then the Suns came surging back. Derrick White responded with a pair of perfectly timed swats on Devin Booker, but the damage was done as Phoenix finished the first half on a 29-9 run.
• Though Lonnie Walker IV started heating up at the beginning of the final frame, Pop made the executive decision to pull the second-year guard when he couldn’t contain Devin Booker. It felt like we were moments away from another Houston game, but it’s difficult to tell which Lonnie we’ll get from contest to contest.
• DeMar DeRozan remains one of the hottest players in the league at the moment. His 30 point effort versus Phoenix may have been for nothing, but he secured the highlight of the evening when he posterized two defenders midway through the fourth quarter.
• Trey Lyles has continued to cool down from beyond the arc after shooting nearly 36% from three-point land over his first 32 games. The first-year Spur is now 6-of-27 from distance including 1-of-3 on Friday night.
• The good guys may have beat the Suns in total rebounds 43-42, but they were thoroughly outhustled on the boards during crucial possessions. The nail in the coffin came when Dario Saric scored a late second-chance bucket after San Antonio failed to box him out.
• While 13 points may not seem like much, Derrick White kept the Silver and Black in the game with his contributions on both ends of the floor. The savvy combo guard stuffed the stat sheet to a tune of 13-6-4 to go along with 3 steals and 4 blocks.
• LaMarcus Aldridge was 20 points away from making a little NBA history, but he fell short tallying just 16 points in 38 minutes. The seven-time All-Star is set to pass legendary sixth-man Jamal Crawford for sole possession of 53rd place on the all-time scoring leaderboard next time out.
• San Antonio entered the night holding onto the eighth seed with a chance to distance themselves from the pack. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened as they lost a huge home matchup against a team hot on their trail.
For the Suns fans perspective, visit Bright Side of the Sun.
The Spurs return to the AT&T Center on Sunday to take on the Raptors. Tip-off will be at 3:00 PM CT.
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