Suns' speed proves too much for Spurs late
PHOENIX — Going from facing the Los Angeles Lakers to playing the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs can be as dicey as a freeway merge.
The Phoenix Suns entered at a sputter, but their top speed proved too much for the Spurs, racing by San Antonio in the fourth quarter for a 94-89 victory at US Airways Center.
The Suns went from never trailing the Lakers in Wednesday's opener to never leading in Friday's follow-up until the final four minutes. They went from making more 3-pointers than they did in any game last season to making fewer than they did in any game last season.
And it could not have made any better birthday present for Suns managing partner Robert Sarver with all of the Spurs present.
The Suns had to recover from a dreadful offensive start, going from a crawling pace to a clawing comeback that took most of the game to erase a 15-point hole. The long and the short of it was Alex Len, at 7-1, and Isaiah Thomas, at 5-9, with brilliant bench boosts.
Thomas has scored 23 in each of his first two Suns games. He got to finish this one, just as he hoped to be doing despite it looking difficult on a team with Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe.
Bledsoe struggled mightily from the field (3-of-15), but Thomas made 10-of-17 shots while the rest of the team shot 35.7%. The spacing that lit up the Lakers from the perimeter set up penetration Friday.
"Once I got by my defender, sometimes I just walked into a layup," Thomas said.
Thomas' speed overwhelmed the tiring Spurs in the fourth quarter, when he had 10 points and gave them their first lead when he attacked Boris Diaw in transition for a layup for an 88-87 edge with 3:34 to go.
"The shots they were making in the first half and the third quarter, they (the Spurs) weren't making in the fourth quarter," Thomas said. "They're an older team and that's what we want to do. We want to push the pace and play as fast as possible, especially against them."
Thomas' go-ahead score came amid a 10-0 run that concluded with Len filling the lane to catch a pass and then slipping Markieff Morris the ball for a slam and a 92-87 lead with 1:10 to go. Morris followed his twin's big game Wednesday with 20 points, including six in the final 4:02, and 11 rebounds, but it was the double-double from Len that was most appreciated.
With Miles Plumlee's foul problems continuing, Len stepped up with more than just a long defensive presence. He posted career highs in points (10), rebounds (11) and minutes (31), getting all his points in the first half.
"With our guards, it's so easy," Len said. "You're always open."
Len's highlight came on catching Bledsoe's alley-oop pass in front of the rim and reverse slamming it.
"I surprised myself," said Len, who is still playing with a splint on his twice-fractured right pinkie finger.
Bledsoe agreed, saying, "I didn't think he had bounce like that."
Coach Jeff Hornacek turned to Len in crunch time to defend Tim Duncan. Len had spent much of his summer studying Duncan video to learn what he does and he turned the knowledge for stopping him.
The Suns held the Spurs without a field goal for the final five minutes of the game but the Spurs still had a chance to tie after Thomas missed with 20 seconds to go. Trailing 92-89 on an inbound play with 6.5 seconds to go, Diaw tried to call time out but was whistled for a five-second inbound violation.
The Triple Threat lineup of Bledsoe, Dragic and Thomas played the final four minutes and outscored the Spurs 8-2, tightening their defense on Tony Parker.
The Suns did not shoot well but only committed seven turnovers and held the Spurs to 41% shooting, including not field goals for Manu Ginobili.
"Even though we were missing shots, everybody stayed on a string (defensively)," Bledsoe said.
Paul Coro covers the NBA for The Arizona Republic, a Gannett affiliate.