Basket-ball NBA : Spurs lost against Phoenix (101-105)

Phoenix shined at the AT & T Center. The Suns, red lantern Western Conference, have surprised the leader San Antonio, 101-105!

Suns came out hot and jumped out to an 8-2 lead to start the game. Although the Spurs quickly caught up and even took the lead momentarily, the Suns were able to maintain the advantage throughout most of the first quarter; thanks in large part to the aggressive play and passing of Goran Dragic, and the sharp shooting of Luis Scola.

With about two minutes left in the first, the Spurs were able to hit a couple big shots, and Michael Beasley came in to mess things up for Phoenix with a poor shot and a quick turnover as well. At the end of the first the Spurs took the lead 27-25. The Suns were led by Dragic’s 9 points and 7 assists, The Spurs by Tony Parker’s 7 points, 3 assists.

Kendall Marshall, P.J. Tucker, Michael Beasley, Markieff Morris, and Jermain O’Neal were all in to start the second quarter for the Suns. The Suns bench was able to keep the game close initially against the Spurs’ second unit of Patty Mills, Danny Green, Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw, and DeJuan Blair. After a few minutes though the Spurs began to pull away, and Marcus Morris and Tucker came in and seemed to give the Suns a bit more of a lift, and the Suns were able to once again pull within two before most of the Suns’ and Spurs’ starters returned.

With the Spurs’ first unit back in, the Spurs almost instantly started widening the gap once more. The balanced attack of the Spurs seemed to be in full effect, and the Suns simply weren’t as sharp as they were to start the game. At the end of the half the Spurs led 52-45. San antonio was led by Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard who had 11 points a piece, and the Suns were led by Goran Dragic who registered 11 points and 9 assists in just 16 minutes of action.

At the start of the third quarter, the Spurs’ starters came out firing once again. Parker who had only 7 points and 3 assists in the first half picked up an additional four points and three more assists in the first six minutes, and the Spurs as a whole seemed to be playing with more tenacity. The Suns on the other hand were up and down, and Dragic seemed to cool off after his hot start.

However, Scola who had a nice start continued to play very well in the third quarter and hit a few more shots racking up 15 points on 7/10 shooting, to go along with his 3 assists and 4 rebounds. Scola was once again replaced with about three minutes to go in the third, and the Suns quickly fell apart. The Suns lost their only hot hand and the Spurs seemed to find theirs in nearly every player. The Spurs led 77-67 at the end of the third behind Parker’s 17 points and 6 assists. The Suns were led by Scola’s 15 points and 4 rebounds.

In the final quarter, the Suns went on an 8-3 run in the first three minutes to bring the lead down to just five, and forcing Gregg Popovich to call a time out. Jermaine O’Neal came out strong to lead the team and made some nice plays at the basket as well as pulling down some much needed rebounds. The Suns went with their big line-up playing both Gortat and O’Neal together, with Marcus and P.J. at the wings. This worked very well as the Suns were able to claw their way to within 2 points with just under a minute left to play.

Manu Ginobli was fouled and went 1-2 from the free throw line. With only a couple seconds left, O’neal throws a long pass to Wesley Johnson who hits the game-tying three…BANG!!! Overtime 100-100.

In OT, both teams started cold and unable to score. However, the Suns continued to grind it out and play tough behind the inspired play of Jermaine O’Neal who eventually sealed the game with an and-one with under ten seconds left in the game. the Suns were able to hold the Spurs to only one point in overtime.

For once, the Spurs couldn’t hit the big shots and the Suns were able to outlast the Spurs to come away with their biggest win of the year.

The Suns improve to 20-39 on the season and the Spurs fall to 45-14.

Player of the Game:
Jermaine O’Neal who chalked up 22 points on 8/14 shooting, and grabbed 13 rebounds in 27. Amazing effort tonight from J.O.

Final Stats:
The Suns 46% from the field, the Spurs shot 43%.

The Suns won the battle of the boards 49-44, including 19-10 offensive rebounds.

The Suns bench scored 57 points to just 33 for the Spurs.

Other Notes:
Marcus Morris had his best game of his short Phoenix career tonight, playing big in the 4th quarter and scoring 11 points overall.

Wesley Johnson didn’t make a huge impact for most of the game, but there was nothing bigger than his three to send the game to overtime. He seems to have taken over the back-up two spot for good.

The Suns handed the Spurs their first loss at home since November 19, 2012…ending an 18 game home winning streak.


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