Kevin Durant was treated to a warm welcome back to Moody Center and his alma mater, University of Texas, as the Phoenix Suns were handled by the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs, 120-109.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Durant finished with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting and added five rebounds. However, Phoenix was led by an unexpected face as Royce O’Neale scored a career-high 27 points, sinking six 3-pointers. Devin Booker had a rough night, notching just 17 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field.
De’Aaron Fox scored 11 of his team-leading 26 points in the fourth quarter to close out Phoenix. The Spurs had seven players score in double-figures a mere 12 hours after news broke that Wembanyama would be out for the remainder of the season with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
Phoenix (26-29) drops its fourth-straight game and falls further from the final play-in spot. The Suns take on the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Suns lose control in 3rd quarter
Kevin Durant’s 19 points through three quarters wasn’t enough for the Suns to get over the hump as the Spurs took back the reigns to lead Phoenix, 94-79.
Durant and Chris Paul got into a heated altercation late in the second quarter. Durant came back out of the halftime break dialed in to score nine points in the third quarter. Royce O’Neale trailed Durant closely in scoring with 17 points. Devin Booker, who struggled in the first half, turned it up a notch in the third and scored seven of his 11 total points.
Five Spurs scored at least 10 points through the first three quarters, led by De’Aaron Fox with 15 points.
Feb 20, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) and San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) exchange words during the first half at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
O’Neale, Durant bring Suns back in 2nd quarter
Royce O’Neale scored 12 of his 15 points in the second quarter to cut the lead and bring the Suns back before halftime, down 60-54.
Along with O’Neale’s 15 points, Kevin Durant scored six of his 10 points to give Phoenix its first lead at 1:06 in 2nd quarter, 54-53. Bradley Beal followed with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and Devin Booker continued to struggle, shooting 0-of-6 from the field and scoring just four points, all from the line. Bol Bol scored five points off the bench in the first half.
De’Aaron Fox continued to lift the Spurs with 13 points in the first half. All eight of San Antonio’s scorers posted at least five points. Chris Paul, Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson all followed Fox in scoring with eight points each.
Feb 20, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) looks to drive to the basket while defended by San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) during the first half at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Spurs trounce sloppy Suns in 1st quarter
The Victor Wembanyama-less Spurs got off to a hot start over a sloppy Suns team with five careless turnovers, 31-21 in the first quarter.
San Antonio opened the game outscoring Phoenix 8-0 until Durant responded with the first four Suns points. He and Bradley Beal led the team in scoring with four points each. Devin Booker got off to a rough start, accounting for two of Phoenix’s five turnovers and scoring only two points from the free throw line on 0-of-5 shooting from the field.
De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle led the Spurs with six points apiece. Chris Paul followed with five points and three assists. Eight of the nine Spurs that touched the floor in the first quarter scored, Bismack Biyombo was the only one scoreless but grabbed three boards.
Feb 20, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aron Fox (4) reacts after scoring a three point basket during the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Injury report
The Suns had a nearly empty injury report for the first time in a while. Devin Booker (low back contusion), Bradley Beal (left great toe soreness) and Grayson Allen (left knee soreness) all recovered from injuries that kept them out of their last game before the All-Star break. Cody Martin (sports hernia) was the only one out.
For the Spurs, news broke Thursday morning that superstar Victor Wembanyama would be out for the remainder of the season with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
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Reporter Connor Moreno covers the Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @cmorenosports, and on Bluesky, @cloading.bsky.social
