NBA Match Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns
Looking to level the season head to head, Phoenix Suns visit San Antonio to take on the Spurs. In their second meeting of the season, the two teams meet at the AT&T Center tonight.
Coming from a perfect week, Western Conference (WC) toppers Spurs play their opening match tonight. Sporting a 23-3 win loss mark for the season, the Spurs stand on a season high eight game winning streak.
The Spurs opened last week’s play on Wednesday when they hosted the Milwaukee Bucks. In a close clash with the visitors, the Spurs were mostly tied throughout the game dreading losing their winning streak. However, a jumper shot
made by Manu Ginobili as the buzzer rang helped Spurs maintain their winning streak by securing a 92-90 win over the Bucks.
Their next match in the week came the next day when the Spurs visited Denver to play the Nuggets. With four minutes remaining and the Spurs trailing the Nuggets by one point, a running shot by Ginobili assisted by Tim Duncan got
Spurs in the lead. With no points scored in the last minutes, the winning shot again was attributed to Ginobili. Their final match of the week came on Saturday when they played a home match against the Memphis Grizzlies. A season high score by Tony Parker
led the Spurs’ way to a six-point victory. Parker registered thirty-seven (37) points with nine (9) assists shooting 71.4 percent.
Parker’s performance in the week earned him the league Player of the Week for the week of 13 Dec to 19 Dec. Another Spurs player in the nominee was Ginobili. In their last nine matchups, Parker has averaged 24.8 points against
the Suns and is looking forward to meeting Steve Nash and the Suns.
Talking about the matchup, Parker said, "Everyone knows I love to play against Nash. He's one of the best point guards in the NBA and it's been like that for a long time. I've always had some success against them and hopefully
that continues."
Enjoying a 14-2 win loss mark at home, the Spurs are truly the favourites to win tonight looking to extend their winning streak to nine games.
Although they stand much below in the WC rankings, Phoenix Suns enjoyed a 2-1 win loss mark last week. Coming into the week, Suns had a three game losing streak. However, meeting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, the Suns
were able to snap their losing streak by securing a six-point win over the Timberwolves. The scoreboard showed 128-122 as the buzzer rang.
Their second match of the week started a short three game road trip, first of which was in Dallas on Friday. Meeting the Mavericks, the Suns were sent packing to Oklahoma City with a 91-106 defeat. The final match of the week came
last night when the Suns played the Thunder. The Suns were able to secure a win for themselves, defeating Thunder 113-110.
In their latest victory, Grant Hill scored 30 points with 11 rebounds while Steve Nash scored 20 points with 10 assists.
Standing at a level 13-13 in the season so far, the Suns sport a road score of 6-8. The Spurs not only enjoy the home court advantage, they also enjoy the psychological advantage of having defeated the Suns once this season.
Will the Suns be able to level the head-to-head score? Or will the Spurs extend their winning streak? It remains to be seen.
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