Short-handed San Antonio Spurs demolish sluggish Phoenix Suns
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San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was too happy to talk about the job Monty Williams has done with the Phoenix Suns.
“He’s a special guy, special friend,” Popovich said. “We go way back and no one can be more thrilled for him than I am. He’s done a terrific job in every way, shape and form.”
This was before Saturday’s game.
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He even had fun with a follow-up question by saying, “I got to make up more good things about him.”
Then Popovich’s Spurs proceed to demolish Williams’ Suns, 111-85, before 5,078 disappointed fans at Phoenix Suns Arena to end what has been an impressive five-game homestand with a lackluster performance.
“They just played harder than we did,” Suns guard Jevon Carter said. “I don’t think we came to play.”
This is the worst loss for Phoenix this season as San Antonio led by as many as 31 points. The 85 points is a season-low for the Suns (40-16).
“I hate the fact that we lost, but I’m excited because it proves that when we play a certain way, in reference to defending well, sharing the ball and playing with a great deal of force, i.e, competing, we’re a pretty good team,” Williams said. “When we don’t, we have nights like this, and tonight, we just didn’t stick to our DNA.”
Looking flat and out of sorts in having its four-game winning streak snapped, Phoenix missed out on a chance to pull within a 1/2 game of Utah, which lost Satuin overtime at the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who are still without All-Stars LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (calf).
The Jazz were minus their three All-Stars – Rudy Gobert (knee), Mike Conley (knee), and Donovan Mitchell (ankle) – as well as Derrick Favors (knee).
Now the Suns will take this loss into a pivotal five-game East coast road trip.
“Every day is another day to get better,” Carter said. “This one is in the past. There is nothing we can do about it. All we can do is look forward to tomorrow and take the feeling that we have from tonight, that anger, and take it out on the next team we play.”
That next team is Milwaukee (31-25) as the Suns look to avoid losing two games in a row for the first time since late January.
“We just respond Monday when we play against Milwaukee,” Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker said. “So we get on the plane tomorrow, season keeps moving on.”
Phoenix also plays at Philadelphia (39-17) and Boston (31-26), winners of six straight, in a back-to-back beginning Wednesday and close the trip with another back-to-back starting Sunday at Brooklyn (38-18) and ending Monday against New York (30-27).
Phoenix has already beaten the Bucks, Sixers and Celtics, fell the Nets and hasn’t play against New York, but now has to face five of top six teams in the East.
Thre of those five games are on national television.
“We have a tough road trip coming up and we understand that,” Booker said. “We just have to come in and be ready to compete.”
Unlike those five teams, the Spurs (27-28) have a losing record, but had their way with Phoenix despite this being the second of a back-to-back as they lost, 107-106, Friday to Portland at home.
They also rested their leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan, veteran Patty Mills and center Jakob Poeltl for Saturday’s game.
Add Phoenix, with the league’s second-best record behind the Jazz, essentially being full strength and having a day between Thursday’s 122-114 win over Sacramento, the odds appeared to be in its favor to win.
Then the game started and Phoenix repeatedly failed to make shots.
Hitting just 6-of-27 from 3, the Suns shot 40.4% overall against the Spurs, who are 11th in the NBA in defensive rating. Committing 14 turnovers that led to 16 San Antonio points further complicated matters for the Suns.
“I thought we were very active,” said Popovich after the game. “We stayed in front of people. We closed out well for 3s.”
Carter paced Phoenix with 17 points, hitting 3-of-7 from 3, Booker chipped in 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting while Cameron Payne added 12 off the bench.
Chris Paul had a team-high six assists, but the 11-time All-Star scored just six points on 3-of-10 shooting.
“The ball has just been too stagnant,” Williams said. “Been like that like the past two, three games. When you’re making shots, it seems OK, but when you’re playing one pass, one action, shot, you don’t make the defense work. That’s a hard game to play.”
Rudy Gay scored a game-high 19 points off the bench in leading six Spurs in double figures with one being center Drew Eubanks, who posted a double-double of 13 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting and a career-high 13 rebounds in outplaying Suns big Deandre Ayton.
“Really just going to the boards, crashing, being physical,” Eubanks said when asked what was working for him against Ayton. “The ball just kind of fell my way. My teammates did a great job of finding me.”
Eubanks had just one career double-double in his three NBA seasons, which came Monday at Orlando, but recorded another one Saturday while Ayton, who had been playing well of late, missed easy shots at the rim in managing just eight points on 4-of-9 shooing to go with nine rebounds.
“He’s been excellent,” said Popovich about Eubanks. “He’s playing confidently. Feeling a little bit more comfortable with what’s (happening) on the floor.”
Leading by nine going into the second quarter, San Antonio went on a 18-6 run in taking a 46-25 lead with 7:13 left in the first half. The Spurs opened the run with Dejounte Murray, rookie Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker IV each hitting a 3.
“As a team, we just tried to get after them,” said Vassell, who finished with a career-high 18 points, hitting 4-of-6 from 3. “My teammates were finding on my open 3s and they were just giving me confidence.”
Ranked 19th in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 35.8%, the Spurs hit 12-of-29 from deep Saturday night. Overall, San Antonio shot 50.6% from the field against the fifth-best defense in the NBA in defensive rating.
“We just played well as a group,” Gay said. “The ball fell in the basket, which it hasn’t been. Moved the ball around, played well, played good defense. That’s what happened.”
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Short-handed San Antonio Spurs demolish sluggish Phoenix Suns