SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Devin Booker scored 32 points before missing the fourth quarter and the Phoenix Suns never trailed in beating the San Antonio Spurs 131-106 Saturday night to improve their playoff positioning .
“He was Devin Booker first class tonight,” Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said. “He scored, he passed. In total control of the game. Very good performance from Book.
Kevin Durant added 25 points for Phoenix, which never trailed and led by as many as 32. Bradley Beal had 13 points and a season-high 12 assists.
Victor Wembanyama had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot in 21 minutes as San Antonio lost its third straight and eighth in 10 games. Keldon Johnson had 14 points.
Phoenix shot 59.6% in earning its eighth straight win in San Antonio.
“I thought we had a little more contact and physicality in the second half, but you’re not going to stop Book and KD from doing what they do and Bradley is healthy now,” the Spurs coach said , Gregg Popovich. “It’s a pretty difficult trio. Our guys did everything they could and you move on.
The Suns have won three straight to move to 13 games above .500 for the first time this season. The surge comes at an opportune time as Phoenix (42-29) has a half-game lead over Dallas (41-29) for the sixth and final automatic playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“This is what we’ve been working for all season,” Booker said. “I think the time has come. It’s the meat of the season and it’s time to gear up and get ready for the playoffs.
Phoenix has a rematch with San Antonio on Monday as the Spurs wrap up a season-high eight-game homestand. San Antonio has won just once during that stretch.
The Spurs (15-56) need to win five of their final 11 games to avoid finishing with the worst record in franchise history — 20-62 in 1997. Of San Antonio’s remaining opponents, only Utah, Memphis and Detroit is currently not in the playoffs. or a play-in tournament.
Any chance the Spurs had of ending their skid quickly diminished.
“That’s what you want them all to look like when you get an early lead,” Vogel said. “Keeping our foot on the gas and playing the third quarter like we did and going for a knockout, which we did.”
San Antonio opened the game shooting 4 of 17 from the field and had four turnovers.
To make matters worse, Booker had 12 points while shooting 5 of 9 from the field in the first quarter.
Booker then opened the second half with consecutive 3-pointers as Phoenix took its largest lead at the time at 70-47.
“I think it’s just everyone,” Booker said. “I think the team’s defense, we’ve found a rhythm and that translates directly to the offensive side of the ball. You don’t want to be complacent. We have a lot of work to do, but we are taking steps in the right direction. »
The Suns, who averaged 117 points per game, had six players score in double figures. Bradley Beal and Bol Bol had 13 points each.
“It’s just about changing who initiates the ball sometimes,” Durant said. “Change who we want to be the scorer in one play, who sets the screen in one play. We are all versatile players who can do everything on the offensive side of the court. We used that and competed against each other. … It was a good flow tonight.
After beating Bol in a jump ball, Wembanyama was able to smoothly drain a 25-foot 3-pointer that cut the Suns’ lead to 36-24 with nine minutes left in the first half. Wembanyama had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block, but the Spurs trailed 65-47 at halftime.
Wembanyama finished 5 of 7 from the field.
“It’s a team effort with him,” Durant said. “You can’t keep him one-on-one. It’s a burden. He is hard.
Booker and Durant, who received a bottle of wine from Popovich after the game, both missed the final quarter. Booker and Durant played for Popovich and won a gold medal with Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.
San Antonio is 5-19 consecutively, including 2-10 in the second game.
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