NBA Game Summary - San Antonio at Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - The Phoenix Suns, not the San Antonio Spurs, looked like they were the ones finishing up a nine-game road trip on Saturday.
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.