Suns at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are among four teams competing for the No. 2 seed
in the Western Conference and look to take another step toward securing
it when they host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. San Antonio has won 10
consecutive games to sprint up the standings and just completed a
home-and-home sweep of the Houston Rockets, who also are fighting for
positioning.
Slumping Phoenix has lost eight of its last nine games. The Suns never recovered from the trade-deadline deals involving guards Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, and another loss would assure a losing season. San Antonio is soaring with 20 wins in 23 games but don’t expect veteran power forward Tim Duncan to tell you where the playoff derby stands. “I try to figure out where we are and where we could be and it gives me a headache, “Duncan told reporters, “so I just stop looking.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona Plus (Phoenix), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE SUNS (39-41): Phoenix was routed 101-74 by San Antonio in the most-recent meeting on Feb. 28 when it shot just 29.8 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers. It was an all-around abysmal performance for the Suns, who scored a franchise-low 24 points in the first half on 8-of-43 shooting. Phoenix has dropped five straight road games after falling 90-75 at New Orleans on Friday and its last road win came March 21 at Houston.
ABOUT THE SPURS (54-26): Duncan had a superb game against the Rockets on Friday when he scored 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. He also blocked James Harden’s layup with 2.9 seconds left in a one-point victory after San Antonio won its previous nine games by at least 12 points to match an NBA record. “We’re playing right at the right time and that’s what you want,” Duncan told reporters. “We’re healthy at the right time. That’s what you want. Hopefully we can close out these last two games and end it.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Suns have lost eight of their last nine visits to San Antonio.
2. Phoenix F Marcus Morris is just 16-of-50 from the field over his last five games.
3. Spurs C Tiago Splitter (calf) will miss his fifth straight game.