The Suns face the Spurs
After Klay's comeback, the Golden State Warriors have lost consecutive games, and the Phoenix Suns have opened up a 2.5-game difference after a wave of three consecutive wins, and it can be said that no team can threaten their first position in the league for the time being. However, Ayton suffered an injury, which is undoubtedly bad news for the Suns, but fortunately, this team still has McGee, as long as Chris Paul is there, any inside line that can eat cake can shine, not to mention McGee's strength is not bad. In this game, the Suns' opponent is the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the last game to successfully stop the losing streak. Although the Suns are a team that is excellent in team basketball, the Spurs average more assists per game than the Suns, except that the Spurs do not have All-Stars, and there are no superstars such as Chris Paul and Devon Booker.
Booker ruled the game
Booker felt hot, shooting 7-of-10 in the first quarter, 3-of-5 from three-point range, and got 18 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, which was simply unstoppable. Paul shot 2-of-3, got 5 points and 5 assists, played a good role as a commander, the Suns bombed 32 points in a single quarter, but the Spurs did not hesitate to let go, scoring 29 points in the first quarter, only 3 points behind. After returning from the second quarter, in the first half of Booker's break, the Spurs, led by White and Murray, briefly reversed the score, and then Booker returned to the court.
Booker, who rested for a long time, did not fall in his hand, and after coming up, he got 7 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists to help the Suns open up the point difference again. However, at this time, the Suns adopted a five-small lineup, and the Spurs continued to feed the ball to Pelter, who had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks on 3-of-3 shooting, helping the Spurs to chase a 3-point difference at the end of the half. The two teams tied in the second quarter, and the second half was easy to fight again, Murray and White still played steadily, while Pelter gave in on the inside, scoring 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 3-of-4 shooting.
Under the outbreak of Peltel, the Spurs once took a 12-point lead, but Booker continued to exert his strength, shooting 5-of-10, and 16 points, 2 assists and 2 steals in the single quarter, but Vasell pressed a three-point shot, and the Spurs still entered the final quarter with a 4-point lead. In the final quarter that decided the outcome of the game, the two teams staggered the lead, the Suns took a 6-0 lead by 5 points, and then the point difference widened, the Spurs made a series of mistakes to send points, and Paul hit the mid-range jump shot again and again, sending the Spurs to the edge of the cliff.
The Suns maintained a double-digit lead, the Spurs struggled to win, and with 2:49 left in the game, Popovich called out a timeout and then replaced the main player. Booker stayed on the court and unfortunately missed two consecutive three-point attempts and failed to achieve the 50-point mark. Monti also chose a substitution, and in the end, the Suns defeated the Spurs 121-107 and successfully won four consecutive games.
Popovich dew filling
Booker once again showed his offensive talent, with 48 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals, but unfortunately, he did not achieve the achievement of 50 points, and was replaced by Monti, and Booker was still a little depressed when he came off the field. Paul dominated the game again in the final quarter, with 15 points, 2 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks without a single turnover. On the bench, Billy Beaugh also had 17 points and 14 rebounds, shooting 8-of-10 from the field, Payne had 11 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, the only deficiency was that the three-pointers were 9-of-32 from the three-point range, but from within the three-point line, the Suns shot 40-of-63.
Before the fourth quarter, the San Antonio Spurs were equal to the Suns, and even had a slight upper hand, which shows how good Popovich's coaching is. But Popovich also understood that what the team's goal was, not to release water, but it was true that it did not do its best. Forbes and Thaddeus Young, two powerful players, are now hidden by Popovich, and it is clear that the Spurs' goal is to train young people. Murray had 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, White had 14 points and seven assists, and Peltel performed best, with 9-of-12 being 23 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, including six rebounds in the frontcourt.