PHOENIX — Keldon Johnson's dunk with 1.2 seconds left gave the Spurs their only lead of the night and lifted San Antonio to a 115-114 victory over the stunned Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
The Spurs, who trailed by as many as 20 points in the game, stole the ball from Kevin Durant in the final seconds and Johnson, who led the Spurs with 27 points, scored to break San Antonio's nine-game losing streak against Phoenix.
Playing in his fourth NBA game, top draft pick Victor Wembanyama missed his first five shots before throwing down a sensational dunk in the final seconds of the first half. He scored 18 points and had eight rebounds in 28 minutes. Devin Vassell also had 18 for the Spurs.
Durant led Phoenix with 26 points. Eric Gordon scored 20, Grayson Allen had 19 on 5 of 7 shooting from 3-point range for the Suns, who played without injured starting guards Bradley Beal and Devin Booker.
Jusuf Nurkic had a game-high 12 rebounds for Phoenix, which scored the game's first eight points.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called a timeout 53 seconds into the game after Durant’s fastbreak dunk made it 4-0. It didn’t help much as Phoenix went on to lead 27-18 at the end of the quarter. Durant had a game-high 10 points in the period, finishing with a step-back jumper as time was running out. The Spurs shot 29% from the field in the quarter and made just 1 of 11 from 3-point range.
Phoenix led 63-45 at halftime.
Before the game, Suns coach Frank Vogel said “there’s no timetable” for the return of Booker (left ankle sprain) and Bradley Beal (low back spasms). “They’re working very hard to get back as soon as possible,” Vogel said, noting that they have resumed some on-court activities in practice.
NEXT
Spurs and Suns meet again Thursday in Phoenix.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
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