The San Antonio Spurs lost their first game of the season against the Phoenix Suns Sunday night as Victor Wembanyama was held to nine points and nine rebounds. The last time he was held to single-digit points was Oct. 30, 2024 when the Oklahoma City Thunder held the Frenchman to six points.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama picked the wrong night to have a bad game, as the the Spurs lost to the Phoenix Suns 130-118 Sunday night at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
For the Spurs, it was their first loss in six games and knocks them from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Devin Booker scored 28 points for the Suns and Grayson Allen and Ryan Dunn each chipped in with 17 as the Suns were literally on fire for most of the game with their shooting touch.
Collin Gillespie (15 points, 4 assists), Jordan Goodwin (11 points, 3 rebounds), Royce O'Neale (11 points, 6 rebounds) and Nick Richards (10 points, 3 rebounds) also scored in double figures for the Suns.
Wembanyama could not put the ball in the net and was 4-of-14 from the field. To make matter worse, he also committed six turnovers. This was a far cry from the 30.2 points and 14.6 rebounds that the Frenchman averaged during the winning streak to start the season.
The Suns won the game, which they led by as many as 31 points, without Jalen Green (right hamstring strain) and Dillon Brooks (core muscle strain).
The Suns made 14 of their first 20 3-point field goal attempts and took a 102-78 lead into the fourth quarter. The Spurs would pull to within 111-97 with 6:24 left, but Phoenix went on an 11-0 run to put the game away.
This was the second consecutive victory for the Suns. Booker, who also dished out 13 assists, shot 10-of-15 from the field. Phoenix's bench scored 50 points and outpaced the bench of the Spurs.
San Antonio, statistically, did not have a bad game. They won the battle in the paint 64-38. They also had double the second-chance points and fast break points while grabbing 16 offensive rebounds.
Phoenix had 34 assists as their passing was crisp and they were looking for the open shot the entire night. San Antonio had 21 assists and tried to hit the outside jump shot too often as opposed to working the ball in the paint, where they did most of their damage.
San Antonio shot 46 percent from the field, compared to 58 percent for the Suns. The Spurs were also an abysmal 24 percent from behind the arc, while the Suns shot 58 percent from the land of three.
The Spurs will look to get back to their winning ways Wednesday night at the Crypto.com Arena when they face the Los Angeles Lakers.