San Antonio vs. Phoenix, Final Score: Spurs suffer embarrassing first loss of season, 118-130

Phoenix swarmed the Spurs from the onset, particularly Victor Wembanyama (9 point, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks), and forced them well out of their comfort zone to win comfortably. On a night when Phoenix celebrated ‘Day of the Dead,’ their shooting came alive, and San Antonio’s offensive execution resembled a disjointed skeleton. The Suns blitzed the Spurs and were the recipients of steller shooting on an evening where the visitors’ aiim betrayed them and got an uncharacteristically passive game from Victor Wembanyama. Rookie Dylan Harper exited the game with a lower leg injury late in the opening half, while Jalen Green sat out the Suns ‘ victory.

Stephon Castle (26 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) helped stage a Spurs comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. Keldon Johnson (19 points) and Harper (12 points, lower body injury) prevented this game from being a laugher in defeat. Rookie Carter Bryant put up 10 points and 2 steals.

Devin Booker (28 points and 13 assists) led a procession of Suns’ contributors that put up an impressive array of shots. Collin Gillespie (15 points and 4 assists), Ryan Dunn (17 points and 5 rebounds), and Grayson Allen (17 points) expanded the Phoenix advantage throughout and helped Booker fend off a late comeback attempt.

Phoenix benefitted from a handful of alarmingly open looks from three – spread out among their rotation players – to stake themselves to an early lead. San Antonio had trouble creating anything outside of isos, while the Suns played ’the beautiful game’ – assisting on 7 of their first 8 field goals. While Phoenix moved defenders around like chess pieces, the Spurs didn’t find their way until the last 100 seconds of the frame. The Suns left it up in assists (9-3) and points (31-24) while Wembanyama went scoreless.

San Antonio ramped up its defensive intensity to start the second period, and a Harper and-1 brought them back within six momentarily. Then Phoenix resumed its three point barrage to push their lead out to as much as 17. A pair of threes from Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie stemmed the tide a bit. Late in the half, Castle and several Suns had words over a series of possessions, with Coach Mitch Johnson and Castle being assessed technicals. San Antonio went to the half down 16.

O’Neale and Booker and nearly the rest of the Suns that played in the third connected with accuracy to effecctively put the game out of reach. Just like the first two quarters, San Antonio put up points late in the quarter, but failed to make a noticeable dent in the sizeable deficit. Bryant put up a handful of points in his limited action, but the Spurs went to the fourth still down 24 with seven of Wembanyama’s teammates scoring more field goals than his one lone make.

• My friend repeated to me throughout the evening, “THIS IS A TRAP GAME” while his daughter said “OH! THE SPURS ARE LOSING!” #pain
• Dylan Drives: His first drive, and despite Mark Williams slapping him in the face, resulted in an and-1.
• Sequence of the Game #1: After Booker put Phoenix up 11 late in the first period, Castle drove it down the lane an dthrew down a vicious two-handed slam and got the and-1 to boot (to boost his free throw percentage).
• Sequence of the Game #2: At the end of the first stanza, San Antonio nabbed two offensive rebounds, with Jordan McLaughlin feeding Wembanyama deep in the paint, who then found a cutting Keldon Johnson for an acrobatic reverse lay-up.
• Sequence of the Game #3: Partway through the fourth, Vassell wound up for his typical high-arcing shot, and instead, lasered a lob to Wembanyama. Moments later, Johnson crosssed over Mark Williams and delivered a one-handed facial over him.
• I’ve lost count of how many different arena sponsorships this arena has had the last decade.
• The Suns’ uniforms are clean and crisp.

In a ragged start to the game, San Antonio committed turnovers on their first two possessions, while Phoenix didn’t score until 2+ minutes in. Vassell connected twice from similar spots near the right elbow. Grayson (with a graying mane!) hit a three and blew by his defender for a one-handed slam to put the Suns up. As he has done in prior games, Harper made an impact by toughing out an and-1 and briefly stabilizing the halfcourt execution. Phoenix’s sixth three and Booker’s fadeaway jumper made it 25-14. San Antonio committed to challenging the passing lanes and pressuring ballhandlers more and was able to draw itself within five. The Spurs went to the second lucky to be down seven.

Nick Richards, Phoenix’s backup big, outplayed his Spurs’ counterparts to help push the Suns’ lead to 13. Outside of a few bursts of Harper’s individual brilliance, San Antonio fell further behind as a result of their offensive futility. Richard’s 9th and 10th points came on a power dunk at the rim. A Barnes corner three was matched seconds later by a Booker three. A Ryan Dunn lay-up put the Suns up 18 heading into the break.

Grizzled veteran Royce O’Neale led the bucketmaking brigade in the third quarter and the Phoenix lead ballooned to 23. Castle paired a three from the Sunburst logo and a tipback to trim that deficit to 16. By the midway point of the stanza, Harper and Johnson had put up more field goal attempts than Wembanyama. Booker’s transition lay-up fadeaway supplied Phoenix its biggest lead at 26. Castle’s second three was matched by an Allen three. After three quarters, where the Suns shot 60% on 3’s AND 2’s, the Spurs remained buried.

For the Suns fan’s perspective, please visit Bright Side of the Sun.

San Antonio continues its Western road trip Wednesday night at 9:00 PM CDT – taking on Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers.