Game Recap: Spurs pull away from shorthanded Suns, 123-103

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/game-recap-spurs-pull-away-030223873.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-15 03:02:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.