San Antonio vs. Phoenix, Final Score: Wemby lifts Spurs past Suns in final second, 101-100
It was looking like this just wasn’t going to be the Spurs’ night. With a chance to clinch a playoff berth against a possible first round opponent, the Spurs came out flat offensively against the severely-shorthanded Phoenix Suns, and for 43 minutes, it was looking like a lost cause. Then, Victor Wembanyama did what MVP’s do. He had been their steadying force all night but truly took over in the final few minutes, bringing his team back from 10 down with under five minutes to go and hitting the game winning jumper with a second left to secure the 101-100 win.
Wemby had 34 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals, and De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Colin Gillespie was hot in the first half with 17 of his 24 points while hitting 6 threes, and Devin Booker had 22 points and gave the Spurs plenty of trouble in the second half.
Observations
- With the Thunder playing their best ball since their 24-1 start and the gap between the Spurs and third-seeded Lakers likely too large to fill, the Spurs appear pretty much locked into place in the standings, and as a result, “rest mode” seems to be upon us. Every game may feature a new player nursing something, and this time it was Stephon Castle with a “sore hip”. His perimeter defense was definitely missed.
- I tried a little double-watching by having Texas A&M vs. St. Mary’s (Patty Mills’ alma mater) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on my phone while the Spurs were on the TV. The first quarter of the Spurs aligned with the final 6 minutes of the first half for A&M, and I quickly gave up. It was obnoxious because the Spurs and Aggies were shooting on opposite ends of the court, and the color coordination was flipped, with the Spurs in gray and the Aggies in their road maroons, so my brain kept having to adjust. I don’t know how people can do this whole split-screen stuff and have something like four football games on at once. (In case you’re wondering, the Aggies won too! Good basketball night for me.)
- It only took seven field goals for all five starters to score, but that early bit of parody was the only good part about the first half. The Suns went on a 9-2 run after the Spurs bench came in, while the Spurs committed the cardinal sin of letting Gillespie get hot from three. They also missed several bunnies at the rim despite Phoenix lacking shot blockers. The Suns would lead by as much as 11, and Wemby going into superstar mode with 16 points is the only thing that kept it from getting any worse.
- Booker was successful in baiting the refs into a few calls by leaning into the defense, which is not supposed to be a foul but something the refs seem to struggle not calling. Mitch Johnson finally had enough in the third quarter and challenged a call when he leaned into Dylan Harper and got a foul called by grazing his shoulder as he moved out of the way, and it was successful. On the ensuing possession, Wemby hit two free throws to briefly give the Spurs their first lead since the first quarter — before Booker continued his quest to the line by creating contact. He scored the Suns final 11 points of the third quarter while hitting 5-6 free throws.
- It started seeming like the Spurs just couldn’t go on any kind of run in the fourth quarter to take over the game. Threes were not falling all night, they continued to miss badly around the rim, and they couldn’t get out of their own way with offensive fouls and turnovers. They also couldn’t get stops whenever Wemby sat, who was a true case of box score plus/minus don’t lie with +18. He once again helped them go on the game-winning run with big plays on both ends. The Spurs were within a point with 11 seconds left when they fouled Rasheer Flemming, who missed both free throws, and after a timeout, Wemby held the ball to bring down the clock before hitting an iso midrange jumper for the win. It was an MVP-defining win (not that I expect him to win it).
- Jordan McLaughlin was the unsung hero of the night. He got some run with Castle out and Harper having an off night on offense, and while he didn’t score or attempt a shot, he had 5 assists, a steal and block and was a steadying presence on the court. He’s always ready when called upon, which makes him the ultimate teammate and bench vet.
- With the win, the Spurs have clinched their first playoff berth since 2019. The six-year drought was probably longer than anyone anticipated, and it doubled the total number of seasons they had missed the playoffs in franchise history, but they’re back. (Fun fact, I had typed this final bullet point before the game even started, then decided it was a jinx and deleted it right before the Spurs went on their big run to close the game. I remain the master of reverse jinxes.)
