San Antonio Spurs own the first quarter to crush Phoenix Suns 105-91: NBA Recap
On Saturday night, the San Antonio Spurs were able to cruise past the Phoenix Suns in their regular season fixture here in San Antonio.
The Spurs won the contest by a comfortable 105-91 margin, making them 8-2 in their last 10 games and enabling them to clinch the South West Division Championship.
The Suns are in the race for the 8th spot in the playoffs and a loss over here would hurt their playoff dream to a great extent. They are now one game behind 8th placed Houston Rockets.
Tim Duncan had a team high 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs. Sebastian Telfair came off the bench to score a game high 21 points for Phoenix. Steve Nash only played the first six minutes of the game and sat out the rest
of the time as he was not feeling well. With him gone, the Suns were never really in it;
“(Nash) was not going to go back in the game. He was not feeling well, and we're not going to risk one game of putting him back in there and then him missing the rest of the season. I didn't think it merited him going back into
the game" said Suns coach Alvin Gentry on sitting Nash out for the game.
Spurs were in control of the game from the start as they opened the 1st quarter with a 21-4 run, capped off by a 3 pointer by rookie Kawhi Leonard. Stephen Jackson finished the 1st quarter with a 3 pointer
for the Spurs, to take their lead to 35-13. The Suns were lost on offense, managing only 13 points in the opening quarter.
Phoenix went on a 9-0 in the opening minutes of the 2nd quarter but the Spurs lead was so massive that the run failed to make any impact. The Spurs closed the 1st half leading 62-38.
Phoenix outscored San Antonio 27-22 in the third quarter but due to the massive lead the Spurs had built in the first half, Phoenix never came within a striking range. Patty Mills finished the 3rd quarter for the Spurs
with a buzzer beating 3-pointer for an 84-65 lead heading into the final period.
Phoenix needed an extra ordinary turnaround in the final quarter to keep their playoff hopes intact, but fell short. The Spurs managed another 7-0 run to extend their lead to 95-69, a 26 point lead. The Suns responded with a 16-2
run to bring the score to 85-97, but the Spurs held on to win 105-91.
Tony Parker had 14 points for the Spurs and dished 5 assists, while Kawhi Leonard added 14 as well. Manu Ginobili had a quiet night, scoring 7 points and dishing 4 assists. The Suns starters failed to make any impression on the
scoreboard, and the team leader in scoring was Telfair with 21 points. Michael Redd added 13 coming off the bench and Markieff Morris had 10 points and 9 rebounds.
The Spurs beat the Suns in shooting from the field, going 52.6% as compared to 39.6% for Phoenix. The Spurs were 9 of 18 from the three point line where as the Suns only managed 2 of 16 shooting. Phoenix were also defeated by the
Spurs 24-15 in assists and 12-10 in steals. The Spurs turned the ball over 24 times but the Suns failed to capitalize due to their poor shooting from the field.
The Spurs are now comfortably placed in 2nd position in the Western Conference, 4.5 games clear of 3rd placed L.A Lakers. The Suns are in 9th place and still fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
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