Final
Spurs wrap up road trip by pummeling Suns
Mar 1, 2015 - 5:37 AMVideo
Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Spurs took the listless Suns to the woodshed in a lopsided 101-74 victory.
"I take pride in every aspect of my game, but I was out there trying to pick up energy for my team," said Leonard. "I guess the energy carried on through everybody."
The Suns set a franchise low for scoring in a half (24) and were on pace for record lows in points and shooting percentage before San Antonio took its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter. They shot 29.8 percent overall.
The Spurs led by 34 after three, and their regulars were given well-deserved rest in closing out an otherwise disappointing 4-5 road trip in winning fashion. Aron Baynes finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Danny Green and Boris Diaw both scored 12 in the blowout.
Marcus Morris scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns, who failed to build off an emotional overtime victory over the Thunder on Thursday.
The rout started early, as the Spurs scored the first eight points and limited the Suns to a measly 13 points in the opening frame.
A 9-0 run to open the second, punctuated by Leonard's coast-to-coast dunk while being fouled, extended San Antonio's lead to 33-13. It was a 27-point game, 51-24, when Green beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer.
The Suns wound up shooting 18.6 percent (8-of-43) in the first half and were outscored in the paint 26-12 and in second-chance points 10-0.
"We came out real flat," said Morris. "It ain't nothing more, nothing less, we came out flat. You can't do that against a team like that. We were flat, the fans were flat; a bad recipe."
Not much changed after the break, as a Tim Duncan turnaround pushed the difference to a staggering 63-29 midway through the third.
A 33-point fourth quarter helped the Suns save face. Their scoring low of 68 set back in 1981 was reached with just over three minutes to play.
Game Notes
Phoenix's franchise low for field goal percentage is .268 against New Jersey on Mar. 27, 2006 ... Duncan moved past Buck Williams and into sole possession of 12th place on the NBA's all-time games played list. He is 21 games from matching Moses Malone at 1,329 ... Phoenix's previous scoring low this season came in an 85-83 loss to Sacramento on Feb. 8 ... Suns guard Brandon Knight shot 0-for-6 from the field before leaving with a hip pointer.
- SAN ANTONIO: 101
PHOENIX: 74
Final
Feb 28 11:20 PM - SAN ANTONIO: 75
PHOENIX: 41
End of 3rd
Feb 28 10:50 PM - SAN ANTONIO: 51
PHOENIX: 24
Halftime
Feb 28 10:10 PM - SAN ANTONIO: 24
PHOENIX: 13
End of 1st
Feb 28 9:38 PM - SAN ANTONIO: 24
PHOENIX: 13
End of 1st
Feb 28 9:38 PM - SAN ANTONIO: 0
PHOENIX: 0
1st Quarter - 12:00
Feb 28 9:12 PM
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