|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- They missed jump shots from 4 feet, layups
from 2 and 3.
Over a stretch of more than 9 minutes in the fourth quarter, the Phoenix Suns scored only two points on their way to a season-low field-goal percentage of 31.1 and a 90-82 loss Saturday night to the San Antonio Spurs.
"I thought they played some good defense, but we just missed
some shots that we normally make," said Jason Kidd, who went
0-for-8 from the field in the fourth quarter and finished with 12 points.
"When you stay aggressive and drive to the basket, they are
going to block some shots," Kidd said. "They have two great
shot-blockers over there."
David Robinson had six blocks and Tim Duncan three as the Spurs
finished with a season-high 14 swats.
"When we tried to go inside, they blocked a lot of our shots," Phoenix coach Scott Skiles said. "So it was a combination of both things, good defense and poor execution on our part."
The Suns shot 28-of-90 from the field while the Spurs went
30-of-64 for 46.9 percent.
Duncan held leading Suns scorer Cliff Robinson to 12 points before Robinson fouled out with 3:43 to play.
David Robinson led the Spurs with 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
The Spurs took the lead for good when Robinson and Terry Porter
combined for 10 straight points to make it 82-74 with 6:54 left.
"David was real consistent tonight," Duncan said. "He blocked a lot of shots in the fourth and rebounded well. His offense was real good, too."
Duncan and Antonio Daniels, who started in place of the injured Avery Johnson, had apiece 17 for San Antonio. Daniels had two
blocks in guarding Kidd.
"I think it was his best game, and it was against a future Hall
of Fame point guard," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "He was
aggressive on both ends of the court and gave Jason some trouble."
Kidd shot 4-of-20 from the field.
Reserve Rodney Rogers led the Suns with 16 points on 5-of-20
shooting.
"We missed a lot of shots that we normally make," Rogers said.
"We got a lot of the shots that we wanted. We just sometimes
rushed the shot or didn't take our time. We could drive to the
basket when we wanted. We just couldn't make them."
The Suns had led by as many as 10 points in the first half.
They scored 15 straight points, holding the Spurs scoreless for more than five minutes, to make it 36-28 with 6:20 left in the second quarter. They used a 3-pointer by Rogers to go up 42-32 with 4:34 left.
But the Spurs closed to 52-48 at halftime after Sean Elliott
capitalized on Anderson's steal for a fastbreak layup.
The Spurs' victory came just three nights after the Suns beat
them 103-93 in Phoenix. Last month, the Suns handed the Spurs their
worst loss of the season, 100-81.
Game notes
Phoenix had won six of the past seven games against the
Spurs, including last season's playoffs. ... San Antonio (14-9)
snapped a two-game losing streak, while the Suns (15-8) lost their
second straight. ... With the win, Popovich tied Doug Moe for the
most wins by a Spurs coach. Popovich's record is 177-124.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 89
Atlanta 83
Charlotte 99
Boston 87
Cleveland 99
Utah 92
Minnesota 113
Indiana 110
Philadelphia 99
Chicago 91
Denver 102
Houston 100
San Antonio 90
Phoenix 82
Miami 93
Golden State 85
|
