Jeremy Sochan hit for 26 points that included the game-winning 3-pointer in the final minute as the San Antonio Spurs hung on to defeat the visiting Phoenix Suns 104-102 on Monday in the second of a two-game set in three days between the teams.
The Spurs played without star rookie Victor Wembanyama, who was ruled out just before game time with a sprained left ankle.
San Antonio used a 16-0 run bridging the end of the third quarter and the first two-and-a-half minutes of the fourth to take an 83-74 lead. The Suns fought back and went in front on a pair of free throws by Devin Booker with 52 seconds to play. But Sochan poured in his deciding shot from beyond the arc with 29.2 seconds left.
Kevin Durant and Booker missed 3-pointers in the final sequence, allowing the Spurs to escape with the unlikely win.
Sochan also grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds for San Antonio. Devin Vassell added 26 points while Zach Collins had 18 and Keldon Johnson scored 14 for the Spurs (16-56), who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Booker finished with 36 points, Durant had 29 and Royce O’Neale added 14 for the Suns (42-30) in the loss. Phoenix had won three straight and now play its final 10 games against playoff-bound teams.
San Antonio dominated the first quarter, leading by as many as 11 points after Sochan’s jumper at the 1:53 mark of the period. The Spurs settled for a 29-22 lead after one period of play.
Booker and Durant shot the Suns back into the game, and into the lead, through the middle of the second quarter. The pair combined for 10 of the points in a 15-0 surge that concluded with Phoenix up 48-39 with 3:17 to play in the period. Collins’ layup with 11 seconds remaining pulled the Spurs to within 50-47 at the break.
Booker poured in 18 points to lead all scorers before halftime while Phoenix outshot the Spurs 52.5 percent to 42.6 percent in the half. Vassell and Sochan poured in 11 each for San Antonio in the first half.
The Suns led by as many as nine points on three separate occasions in the third quarter before San Antonio rallied, scoring the final eight points of the period to take a 75-74 lead. Johnson had back-to-back 3-pointers in that surge.
–Field Level Media