PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 29 points and the Phoenix Suns weathered the loss of Kevin Durant to an ankle injury to beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-93 on Tuesday night.
Durant left the game with 3:51 to play in the second quarter and did not return. He headed to the locker room under his own power, and the Suns later said he hurt an ankle without providing any specifics. He finished with 13 points.
Though Oklahoma City won West Group B in the NBA Cup, the Suns were hoping to earn a wild-card berth into the quarterfinals. But they were eliminated when Dallas beat Memphis.
Booker surpassed 15,000 career points with his first basket of the night. He trails only Walter Davis (15,666) on Phoenix’s scoring list.
San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama scored 15 points, all in the second half, and had 13 rebounds. He missed all seven shots in the first half, six from 3-point range.
Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 25 points off the bench. Stephon Castle scored 16.
Tyus Jones scored 16 points, and Royce O’Neale and Bradley Beal had 10 each for Phoenix.
Takeaways
Spurs: Jeremy Sochan returned after missing 13 games with a left thumb injury that required surgery. He came off the bench and contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Suns: Oso Ighodaro started at center for Phoenix in place of Jusuf Nurkic, who's sidelined for at least a week with a right thigh contusion.
Key moment
The Suns began the game with an 11-0 spurt before Castle scored for San Antonio.
Key stat
The Spurs were 8 of 44 (18%) from 3-point range.
Up next
The Spurs host Chicago on Friday. The Suns visit New Orleans on Friday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Jack Thompson, The Associated Press
