SAN ANTONIO (AP) 鈥� Jeremy Sochan hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute and finished with 26 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as San Antonio beat the Phoenix Suns 104-102 on Monday night with Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama sidelined due to injury.
Devin Vassell added 26 points for San Antonio and celebrated the victory by yelling into the house microphone after the game: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big win. That鈥檚 a big win.鈥�
Devin Booker scored 36 points and Kevin Durant added 29 as Phoenix split a two-game set in San Antonio.
鈥淒isappointed,鈥� Phoenix guard Bradley Beal said. 鈥淲e definitely laid an egg. We came in, thought it was going to be easy, no Wemby. ... They came out aggressive, like coach told us they would, and we didn鈥檛 respond. We didn鈥檛. Did not respond.鈥�
Beal exited with three minutes remaining after spraining his right ring finger. Suns coach Frank Vogel said X-rays were negative for any structural damage, but Beal鈥檚 status remains undetermined.
The Suns outscored the Spurs 14-7 in the final five minutes, but Sochan鈥檚 3-pointer with 29 seconds was the difference. Booker and Durant missed potential game-winning 3-pointers in the final seconds.
鈥淚 was confident,鈥� Sochan said. 鈥淓ven at the start, I was asking for the ball, I had my hands up. I felt like the couple of the last games the ball hasn鈥檛 going in for me from the 3-point line. But no matter what, I believe in myself.鈥�
The Spurs were without Wembanyama, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. He was injured in Saturday鈥檚 loss to Phoenix.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said the injury was not severe and that it was 鈥渁 little better than 50-50鈥� that Wembanyama would play Wednesday at Utah.
After being blown out Saturday by Phoenix witih Wembanyama, the Spurs unexpectedly turned the tables without him.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a key piece we are missing, and I think that makes us, we need to be more connected in that sense if we are missing him,鈥� Sochan said. 鈥淲e got to do stuff he does, whether that鈥檚 defense, rebounding, making it difficult for people to score in the paint, because we don鈥檛 have him as a key piece.鈥�
The loss could prove critical for Phoenix, which next plays 10 consecutive playoff-bound teams, starting Wednesday in Denver.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unacceptable to lose that game for our guys,鈥� Vogel said. 鈥淲e all said the right things, we all did the right preparation to come in, but we didn鈥檛 play with the necessary focus and disposition throughout I would say the first half. You give a team like that life and that鈥檚 how the NBA works. ... With Victor out, those guys played really well.鈥�
Phoenix (42-30) is eighth in the Western Conference, percentage points behind Sacramento (41-29) and Dallas (41-29) in the race for sixth and the final spot to avoid the play-in tournament.
After trailing by 32 points in losing 131-106 on Saturday, San Antonio was much better in the rematch 鈥� just as Phoenix expected.
鈥淚鈥檓 not into disrespecting our opponents,鈥� Booker said. 鈥淭hese guys are NBA guys and they have some talented young players over there. 鈥� We weren鈥檛 unprepared. We knew what to expect.鈥�
The Suns needed Durant and Booker in the final quarter after both sat out the fourth in Saturday鈥檚 victory, with the Spurs trailing by 25 points in the fourth.
San Antonio went on a 16-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters, turning a nine-point deficit in the third into an 83-74 lead two minutes into the fourth.
San Antonio closed its season-high eight-game homestand with two victories, including one in Austin as part of the franchise鈥檚 regional outreach.
UP NEXT
Suns: At Denver on Wednesday.
Spurs: At Utah on Wednesday.
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AP NBA:
Raul Dominguez, The Associated Press
