Suns look to end road trip on winning note in San Antonio

Phoenix Suns (4-5) v San Antonio Spurs (5-4)

Sunday 11/5/2017 5:00pm
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Arizona Sports 98.7FM/Fox Sports Arizona

2017-18 – Series tied 0-0
All-Time Series – Spurs lead 89-76
Last Matchup – Suns won 108-105
Suns’ Last Game – Loss to the New York Knicks 120-107
Spurs’ Last Game – Win over the Charlotte Hornets 108-101
2017-18 Suns’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 107.3 (12th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 117.0 (29th of 30)
2017-18 Spurs’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 98.6 (26th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 100.6 (6th of 30)

It kind of felt like the Suns were never going to lose again, didn’t it.

As silly as that sounds, after winning four of their first five under interim coach Jay Triano, the first time that the franchise had such a record through five games in two years, and reaching .500 for the first time since November 2015 as well, the silly notion that the Suns were never going to lose again – or at least be able to comeback and steal a victory after reaching large deficits – began to creep into the minds of Suns fans.

Then they faced the New York Knicks, dug themselves into a deep hole as they had against the Washington Wizards, and were unable to overcome the 9th wonder of the world, possibly the only Unicorn the planet has ever seen, Kristaps Porzingis.

Once again, it makes you wish that the Sun had been able to steal Porzingis away from the Knicks over the summer before the end of the Phil Jackson era. Having him next to Devin Booker would have been spectacular.

Phoenix Suns

In what appeared to be a replica of the team’s first quarter against the Washington Wizards, poor shooting and stagnant defense allowed the Suns to fall behind early and dig a hole that would take quite a while to attempt to climb out of. Down by as many as 22 points in the second quarter, Phoenix would pull to within 10 points before half before allowing a Knicks run that would stretch the lead back up to 20 at one point, then moved to within 6 points in the third, only to never get any closer.

Kristaps Porzingis led all scorers with 37 points, falling one point off of his career-high 38 that he had just set several nights earlier, and Devin Booker finished with 34 points.

Early in the first half T.J. Warren’s head slammed into Enus Canter when driving to the basket. Warren would leave the game and did not return, but was not put on the concussion protocol. Warren has been on a fantastic early season tear, very similar to his start of last season. Especially right now without Eric Bledsoe, the Suns can ill-afford to have games without a true scorer in the lineup next to Devin Booker as teams can key on Booker in the halfcourt, locking him down.

The Suns enter San Antonio with a 4-5 record, the final game of a five-game road trip. Phoenix defeated the Spurs the last time they met – in Mexico City. If you recall, Kawhi Leonard and Devin Booker went toe-to-toe, Leonard finishing with 38 points, but Booker finishing with 39, his then career-high.

Down by a single point with a minuye left, Devin Booker nailed two free throws, then following a quick Eric Bledsoe steal, sank a layup to put Phoenix up three. P.J. Tucker would inexplicably foul Lenoard while attempting a three, but Kawhi missed the first, and after sinking the next two, Phoenix clung to a one-point lead. After the two teams traded missed shots, P.J. Tucker would put Phoenix up three with two free throws after he was intentionally fouled by Leonard, sealing the 108-105 victory.

This may be the perfect time to face the Spurs as this season they have not found their usual Spurs spark as of yet. After opening the season 4-0, they dropped four straight by an average of 16 points. They did get back to their winning ways against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, but have not been the same team that finished 61-21 last season, as of yet.

If Phoenix can steal a victory in San Antonio this evening, it will be the first time that they have won on the road in San Antonio since February 27, 2013.

Next: 50 for 50: The history of the Phoenix Suns in 1970-71

Three Interesting Stats

Phoenix Suns

1. At 23.4 points per game so far this season, Devin Booker is the 14th leading scorer in the league. His 91.1% free throw percentage is by far a career-high. He is also one of only seven players in the league to average at least 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. The others are Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, DeMarcus Cousins, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, and Blake Griffin.

2. If the Suns defeat the Spurs, they will have a streak of two wins over San Antonio for the first time since winning three straight from March 2008 to October 2009 stretching over two seasons.

3. Rookie’s Mike James and Josh Jackson are each averaging double-digit scoring per game. The last time the Suns had two rookie’s average double figures in scoring in a season, was 1987-88. Armon Gilliam (who the Suns drafted) averaged 14.8 per game, while Kevin Johnson, who the Suns acquired on trade deadline day, finished with 12.6 with Phoenix.