SAN ANTONIO โ Jeremy Sochan hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute and finished with 26 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as San Antonio beat the Phoenix Suns 104-102 on Monday night with Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama sidelined due to injury.
Devin Vassell added 26 points for the Spurs and celebrated the victory by yelling into the house microphone after the game: โThatโs a big win. Thatโs a big win.โ
Devin Booker scored 36 points and Kevin Durant added 29 as Phoenix split a two-game set in San Antonio.
“I was confidentโฆ I was asking for the ballโฆ no matter what I believe in myself”
Jeremy Sochan wanted the ball before his game-winning 3-pointer ๐ฏ pic.twitter.com/P2p7IQob9N
โ NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2024
โDisappointed,โ Phoenix guard Bradley Beal said. โWe definitely laid an egg. We came in, thought it was going to be easy, no Wemby. โฆ They came out aggressive, like coach told us they would, and we didnโt respond. We didnโt. Did not respond.โ
Beal exited with three minutes remaining after spraining his right ring finger. Suns coach Frank Vogel said X-rays were negative for any structural damage, but Bealโs status remains undetermined.
The Suns outscored the Spurs 14-7 in the final five minutes, but Sochanโs 3-pointer with 29 seconds was the difference. Booker and Durant missed potential game-winning 3-pointers in the final seconds.
โI was confident,โ Sochan said. โEven at the start, I was asking for the ball, I had my hands up. I felt like the couple of the last games the ball hasnโt going in for me from the 3-point line. But no matter what, I believe in myself.โ
The Spurs were without Wembanyama, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. He was injured in Saturdayโs loss to Phoenix.
Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell each score 26, with Sochan knocking down the game-winner, to lead the Spurs past the Suns!
Sochan: 26 PTS, 18 REB
Vassell: 26 PTS, 7 AST, 3 STL pic.twitter.com/fQuGczkLT2โ NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2024
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said the injury was not severe and that it was โa little better than 50-50โ that Wembanyama would play Wednesday at Utah.
After being blown out Saturday by Phoenix witih Wembanyama, the Spurs unexpectedly turned the tables without him.
โHeโs a key piece we are missing, and I think that makes us, we need to be more connected in that sense if we are missing him,โ Sochan said. โWe got to do stuff he does, whether thatโs defense, rebounding, making it difficult for people to score in the paint, because we donโt have him as a key piece.โ
The loss could prove critical for Phoenix, which next plays 10 consecutive playoff-bound teams, starting Wednesday in Denver.
โItโs unacceptable to lose that game for our guys,โ Vogel said. โWe all said the right things, we all did the right preparation to come in, but we didnโt play with the necessary focus and disposition throughout I would say the first half. You give a team like that life and thatโs how the NBA works. โฆ With Victor out, those guys played really well.โ
Phoenix (42-30) is eighth in the Western Conference, percentage points behind Sacramento (41-29) and Dallas (41-29) in the race for sixth and the final spot to avoid the play-in tournament.
After trailing by 32 points in losing 131-106 on Saturday, San Antonio was much better in the rematch โ just as Phoenix expected.
โIโm not into disrespecting our opponents,โ Booker said. โThese guys are NBA guys and they have some talented young players over there. โฆ We werenโt unprepared. We knew what to expect.โ
The Suns needed Durant and Booker in the final quarter after both sat out the fourth in Saturdayโs victory, with the Spurs trailing by 25 points in the fourth.
San Antonio went on a 16-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters, turning a nine-point deficit in the third into an 83-74 lead two minutes into the fourth.
San Antonio closed its season-high eight-game homestand with two victories, including one in Austin as part of the franchiseโs regional outreach.
NEXT SCHEDULE
Suns: At Denver on Wednesday.
Spurs: At Utah on Wednesday.