Rudy Gay scored 19 points, and rookie Devin Vassell poured in a career-high 18 off the bench as the short-handed San Antonio Spurs swamped the Phoenix Suns 111-85 on Saturday in the Valley of the Sun to emphatically snap a two-game losing streak.
The Spurs played without starters DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl and key reserve Patty Mills, all held out for rest in the second game of a home-road back-to-back. But the players San Antonio employed dominated the Suns, leading by 19 points at the half and by as many as 31 in the fourth quarter while rolling to the win.
Keldon Johnson added 17 points for San Antonio, with Dejounte Murray scoring 14, Drew Eubanks hitting for 13 points and taking a game-high 13 rebounds, and Derrick White tallying 12 for the Spurs.
Jevon Carter led Phoenix with 17 points while Devin Booker added 15 despite not playing in the fourth quarter because of the lopsided deficit. Cameron Payne hit for 12 for the Suns, who had a four-game winning streak stopped and were held to a season-low in points.
The Spurs took it to Phoenix early on, leading 28-19 at the end of the first quarter and by 23 points after a layup by Eubanks with 2:18 to play in the second period. The Suns forged a 6-0 run to cut into the lead before San Antonio settled for a 64-45 advantage at the break.
Murray led the Spurs in the first half with 10 points while Booker’s 13 points before halftime kept Phoenix within reach. San Antonio outshot the Suns 54.3 percent to 45.5 percent over the first two quarters and were 8 of 16 from beyond the arc while Phoenix was just 1 for 10.
The Suns could make up no ground in the third quarter and needed an 8-0 run to end the period to stay within 19 points, at 87-68, heading into the final quarter — and then things got really ugly.
It was the first missed game of the season for Poeltl; every San Antonio player has now missed at least one game this year.
–Field Level Media
