The Suns sat six regulars, hung around for a quarter, and then watched the Spurs pull away at the free-throw line and from deep. San Antonio won 123-103 and dropped Phoenix to 1-3 in the preseason.
The Suns won the paint by 16, but the Spurs went 30-of-35 at the line to Phoenix’s 12-of-15 and made 13 threes to Phoenix’s 7. That’s 36 points from those two spots in a 20-point loss. The bigger concern is Luke Kennard, who left in the second quarter with a left knee injury and did not return.
Ryan Dunn
did not miss. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting and 3-of-3 at the line, plus 2 blocks in 23 minutes. Jamaree Bouyea also scored 15, going 7-of-11, and handed out 8 assists. Koa Peat and Kennedy Chandler added 10 apiece.
Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 4 blocks in 23 minutes. Stephon Castle scored 18, and 14 of those came at the line. Carter Bryant added 16 off the bench on 4-of-7 shooting from three.
The Phoenix Suns emptied the bench right from the jump in this one. Devin Booker, Miles Bridges, Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, Collin Gillespie, and Oso Ighodaro all sat out.
Game Flow
First Half
It was certainly a slow start for both squads, especially the Spurs. The teams combined to shoot 4-for-21 to begin the game.
The Suns eventually broke out of that and jumped out to a 13-7 lead, led by 9 early points from Jamaree Bouyea and Ryan Dunn.
Duop Reath gave the second unit an immediate jolt. He knocked down 2-of-3 from deep and led Phoenix with 6 points in under five minutes of first-quarter action.
The defense did the heavy lifting early. Phoenix turned 3 Spurs turnovers into 7 points, while San Antonio managed just 2 points off turnovers going the other way. Ryan Dunn added 2 blocks in the frame.
Maluach grabbed 4 rebounds in the first quarter. Wembanyama answered with 6 points, mostly at the rim, including a putback in the final seconds.
The shooting never fully came around. Phoenix went 3-of-11 from three and 9-of-25 overall in the opening 12 minutes. Phoenix led after the first quarter, 23-22.
The second quarter is where it got away from Phoenix, and most of the damage came at the free-throw line.
San Antonio won the frame 38-26. The Spurs shot 12-of-19 from the field and went a perfect 12-of-12 at the line. Phoenix got to the stripe four times and made two.
The Suns were whistled for nine fouls in the quarter, compared to four for San Antonio, and the Spurs were in the bonus for most of the period. The cold shooting carried over from the first quarter. Phoenix went 0-for-6 from three in the second and finished the half 3-of-17 from deep.
Ryan Dunn was the bright spot. He went 3-for-3 for 7 points in six minutes of the second, and went into the break with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting and 3-of-3 at the line. Jamaree Bouyea also had 11 at the half, along with 5 assists.
We also got a Koa Peat sighting. He went 2-for-2 with a block in just under seven minutes, and he looked comfortable.
The second unit had a rough stretch. Duop Reath was a minus-15 in the quarter, Rasheer Fleming was a minus-10, and Jordan Goodwin and Peat were each a minus-9. Fleming scored 6 points on 3-of-5 shooting but also turned the ball over twice.
Maluach had a quiet second quarter: no rebounds and two fouls in 5:28. Wembanyama went 3-of-4 for 6 points in the period and had 12 at the half.
Luke Kennard injury
The bigger concern came in the second quarter. Luke Kennard went down after attempting a floater and did not return to the floor before halftime. Coach Ott called it a “sore left knee” after the game. We’ll be waiting for more updates as they come.
Kennard played 5:17 in the second quarter before he left. He had 4 points on 2-of-8 shooting and 2 steals in the half. He would not return.
The game was tied six times in the first half, and Phoenix trailed by six with just over a minute left. San Antonio closed on a 7-2 push.
Phoenix trailed at the half, 60-49. Dunn and Bouyea led the Suns with 11 points each, and Castle led all scorers with 16.
Second Half
Neither team brought its full starting group back for long in the second half. Khaman Maluach did not play in the second half. Fox did not play in the third quarter, and Wembanyama, Castle, Vassell, and Harper each logged four to six minutes before handing it over to the Spurs’ reserves.
Wembanyama made those few minutes count. He went 3-for-3 with 7 points and finished a plus-10. San Antonio pushed the lead to 21 at 77-56, its biggest of the night.
Phoenix’s reserves chipped away from there. Koby Brea gave the second unit a spark, hitting both of his threes and scoring 7 points in nine minutes. Haywood Highsmith matched him with 7 on 3-of-3 shooting.
The extra possessions still went San Antonio’s way. The Spurs won the boards 12-6 in the quarter and scored 10 points off 7 Suns turnovers, compared to just 2 points off turnovers for Phoenix. Tarris Reed Jr. did a lot of that dirty work in under eight minutes: 5 rebounds (3 offensive), 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
Duop Reath had a rough frame in the third. He went 0-for-3 from deep and was a minus-10 in just over four minutes.
The Spurs took the third quarter, 32-26. After three, San Antonio led 92-75.
Both benches finished it out. Phoenix’s fourth-quarter group was Kennedy Chandler, Phillip Wheeler, Pat Spencer, Koby Brea, Koa Peat, Rasheer Fleming, CJ Huntley, Duop Reath, and a brief Mark Williams sighting.
Chandler played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter and scored all 10 of his points in it, going 3-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 at the line. He also had 2 blocks. Spencer added 7 in the quarter.
San Antonio’s biggest lead came at 116-91. Ja’Kobi Gillespie did most of that damage, scoring 12 in the fourth on 3-of-5 from deep.
Phoenix closed on a 12-7 run. The final play was the highlight: Peat jumped a passing lane for a steal, and Chandler found Wheeler for a running alley-oop with 14 seconds left.
The Spurs won the fourth quarter 31-28.
Up Next
One last test awaits: the Utah Jazz at home on Friday. It is the final preseason game.
