The San Antonio Spurs were a bit rusty after two days of rest, and they failed to escape the Phoenix Suns, starting their four-game road trip 0-1.
The Spurs only led by five through the opening quarter because their offense got sloppy in the latter stage, while they committed four turnovers and conceded five offensive rebounds that led to Phoenix’s seven second-chance points. Those issues persisted early in the next frame, but De’Aaron Fox kept them afloat, getting to the line and setting up Luke Kornet, who also cleaned up the backline, forcing misses when the Suns got extra looks.
Jeremy Sochan and rookie Carter Bryant gave them some juice off the bench, yet their 3-point attempts weren’t falling. They also had eight turnovers when they went to halftime ahead by seven. Fox was their only double-digit scorer (13) up to that point, and they unsuccessfully force-fed him in the next quarter. He was so frustrated when he took his first rest that he earned a technical foul, and the Suns took their first lead since a few minutes into the game.
Devin Vassell’s 3-point shooting kept them from falling apart as the turnovers continued mounting. Then Fox checked back in late in the period, yet they still went into the fourth down six. The Spurs fell behind by as many as 13, and couldn’t stop the bleeding before time ran out. Two of the main culprits were Collin Gillespie and Dillon Brooks.