Led by Devin Booker’s season-high 48 points, along with 5 rebounds and 6 assists, the Phoenix Suns defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 121-107. Chris Paul added 15 points, 12 assists and 0 turnovers for the Suns in the victory, while Dejounte Murray tallied 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the Spurs in the losing effort. The Suns improve to 34-9 on the season, while the Spurs fall to 16-28.
Post Game Comments:
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
(On Phoenix’s experience in the fourth quarter…)
“They have a record for a reason. It's a hell of a team. Even though they didn’t have Ayton, they know what they are doing. Hell of a defensive team, tough defense, tough offensive team to stop. We competed hard but too many mistakes, too many turnovers. Got hit on the boards in certain periods where they got extra shots, so I think that combination hurt us. It stops your momentum. We’ve got to play for the whole 48 a little bit sharper, a little bit more purpose, but they don’t want for effort, that's for sure.”
(On Chris Paul...)
“He’s one of those special guys. Obviously, he’s a Hall of Famer and one of the smartest players that's ever stepped on the court. He’s a tough one.”
(On Dejounte Murray learning from Chris Paul…)
“You learn every minute from everybody you play against. Obviously, Dejounte has picked that up, because his season has been better and better with every week that goes by. His confidence level, his leadership abilities, he’s been great.”
Spurs Center Jakob Poeltl
(On Sun’s defense without Ayton…)
“They are a very good team on defense. They have a weird style on defense. We’ve seen it a couple of times, but it doesn’t have a regular flow. They try to disrupt a lot of our plays.”
(On facing a team with championship aspirations…)
“I think we were there with them for most of that game. We battled them head-to-head. We went up in the third quarter. We just didn’t finish that game out great. I guess that’s where their experience comes in to finish that game. They played a good fourth quarter. We have to give it to them.”
(On getting the starting five back…)
“It felt good. We got rolling pretty well today. [Dejounte Murray] hit some tough shots early. We have good chemistry with that group. Especially lately with all these guys out, I feel like we had to play a lot of lineups that weren’t used to playing with each other. So, it’s good to finally get some rhythm back into our game again.”
(On Zach Collins…)
“Zach’s a really good basketball player. He’s just had some bad luck with injuries these past couple of years. I think he can help us tremendously. He’s a guy that plays with a lot of energy has some athleticism, can stretch the floor a little bit as a big, he’s still good in the paint. I remember when he was in Portland, and they were playing two bigs at a time. It was really tough, because they really made it crowded in the paint. I think he can definitely help us there. Hopefully, he’ll get his rhythm as fast as possible and can get some good minutes for us.”
Spurs Guard/Forward Keldon Johnson
(On falling short in a tough battle…)
“We were up by 10 or 12 points in the third quarter. They’re a very, very good team. They were in the championship last year, so they’re a very good team, very solid. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, had some bad turnovers and a couple of bad shots, but we were right there. Hats off to them. They played a good game, and they played solid, and we just have to be better.”
(On starting 5 back together…)
“It’s good to have everybody back and healthy. It’s been a rollercoaster. One game we have everybody, and the next game we don’t have anybody. Getting everybody back together is going to take a little time, but we’re going to get our rhythm back and get the ball rolling again.”
(On Zach Collins on the cusp of returning…)
“He’s got so much perseverance. Trial after trial. Every day he’s the first one in. We get here, and he’s already full sweat, working and trying to get back and be available for the team. Every time I see him, he’s getting better and better. He’s just steadily improving, so to see him back on the court, it makes me happy. Before the game, we were watching, and we were cheering him on like ‘Come on, Zach. Come on, Zach.’ It all speaks volumes, because he’s a great player. If you look at him on our bench, he’s doing the same thing for us. Night in, night out. Whenever he’s down here, he’s cheering, and he hasn’t even gotten to step on the court yet with us. Getting him back is definitely going to be great for us. We can't wait to have him back, and we’re going to be welcoming him with open arms. We know he’s got that grit, that tenacity. We know he’s mean, we know he has an attitude, so we’re looking forward to playing with him.”