Even though the San Antonio Spurs rested Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker late in the game against the Phoenix Suns, they managed to mount an improbable comeback, as they defeated the Suns by a final score of 100-95 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on Friday night.
As the fourth quarter started, the Spurs were down by 10 points. Phoenix must have thought that they were going to win their fifth straight game. But the Spurs know how to win basketball games – they are the defending champions after all – and put up 41 points in the final twelve minutes to give them the five-point victory.
Even though San Antonio started with only Duncan and Parker on the court tonight, neither played more than 26 minutes. This means that someone had to step up to provide the offensive spark, and that man was Danny Green. The fifth year pro finished the night with a game-high 20 points, making six of his 13 attempts from the field and converting all four of his costless throws. It wasn’t just the amount of points he scored, though, as Green had a nice well-rounded evening filling in every category on the box score and played excellent on the defensive side of the ball.
Being up by 10 with 12 minutes left and eventually losing by five points must be an extremely frustrating way to end a four-game winning streak. If there are any positives, though, going forward it was the performances from a few individuals. These included P.J. Tucker, Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, Gerald Green, and Isaiah Thomas, who all finished the night in double-digit scoring. Tucker and Bledsoe each finished the night with 19 points with Dragic closely behind with 17. The only thing that the Suns will have to work on for next time is the defense late in games to make sure that a lead this big doesn’t slip again.
Phoenix continues their road trip and will take on a very good Memphis Grizzlies squad this coming Sunday. The Spurs will go on the road, as they face a young Minnesota Timberwolves team who will be poised to get a big win tomorrow night.