Keldon Johnson’s last-second steal and layup gave San Antonio its first lead of the game with 1.2 seconds left on Tuesday night.
SAN ANTONIO —
Pregame
Fresh off their last-second victory over the Suns (2-2) in Phoenix, the Spurs (2-2) will be right back on the same court for a rematch two nights later.
San Antonio stunned the Footprint Center crowd when Keldon Johnson snatched the ball right out of Kevin Durant’s hands before scoring the game-winning layup Tuesday night, giving the Spurs their first lead of the game and, a few moments later, their first road game of the season. They were losing by as many as 20 points at one point in the game, which represented a strong response by a young Spurs crowd that had lost by 40 to the Clippers two nights prior.
It also gave San Antonio its first win over Phoenix since April 17, 2021, when the Silver & Black trotted out a starting lineup of Johnson, Drew Eubanks, Luka Samanic, Derrick White and Dejounte Murray.
“I couldn’t be prouder of them. As we all talk about, pounding the rock,” head coach Gregg Popovich said. “They just kept playing through it no matter what. We made a gazillion mistakes, we just kept playing. That’s the best thing about the group. I was really proud of them.”
Durant commended the play of Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, saying “he’s going to be a force in this league for a long time.” At the same time, he and the Suns will be out for revenge Thursday night.
As of now, however, they’re expected to once again be without prolific scorers Devin Booker and Bradley Beal due to injury.
Recent history
The Spurs are now 1-9 in their last 10 games against the Suns, and are 100-87 in the two teams’ all-time series.
Devin Vassell’s 20 points per game leads San Antonio so far this season, with Keldon Johnson and Victor Wembanyama averaging 17.3 and 16.3 points per matchup, respectively. Wembanyama’s 2.3 blocks and 7.5 rebounds per game is tops for the Spurs in the early going.
Kevin Durant is averaging 27.3 points per game for Phoenix so far in his first full season with the team.
San Antonio managed to eke out Tuesday’s win despite the Suns outplaying them in virtually every category on the stat sheet. The Spurs did, however, outscore their opponent 56-40 in the paint.
Injury report
Here’s the latest injury report from the NBA.
Spurs: No players out due to injury.
- Bradley Beal: Out, lower back spasms
- Devin Booker: Questionable, left ankle sprain
- Damion Lee: Out, right meniscus surgery
Check back here for updates.
Game information
When: 9 p.m. CST
Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix
How to watch: Bally Sports Southwest
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