THE San Antonio Spurs snatched a win against the Phoenix Suns with a game winning shot.
Spurs forward Rudy Gay knocked a jumper in the left wing to steal a game from the Suns with the close score of 126-124. During this game, the Spurs played without their star guard Demar Derozan who has a left knee injury.
To pick up the slack, the Spurs were led by forward Lamarcus Aldridge who posted 29 points and 14 rebounds, forward Davis Bertans with 18, guard Marco Bellinelli with 17, Gay with 16, and guard Patty Mills and Byrn Forbes with each scoring 12 points.
Meanwhile, the Suns were without their rookie center Deandre Ayton. The Suns rising star Devin Booker posted 38 points while guard Jamal Crawford gathered 22 points, forward Mikal Bridges with 17 points, forwards Josh Jackson and Kelly Oubre scoring 14 each, and center Richaun Holmes added 10 points in the mix.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at 33 apiece. Going into halftime, the game was going back and forth, staying tight throughout the second quarter. During the halftime, the Spurs led with 70-67.
The Spurs managed to spark a 14-2 run in the start of the third quarter, extending their lead to 94-82 with 2:20 left in the quarter. However, the Suns stormed back with a 9-2 run, closing the quarter with the score of 96-91.
The game reached to a scintillating 4th quarter with the score still close and the win up for grab. With 33.3 seconds left, Bertans splashes a three to extend the lead of the Spurs to 4 points. However, Suns guard Devin Booker answers with a pull-up jumper with 24.9 seconds on the clock left. The Spurs managed to turn to ball over and Suns forward Josh Jackson dunked the ball with 19.6 seconds left, leaving the score of 124-124.
After burning their timeout, the Spurs relied on Rudy Gay to clinch the game. He proceeded to isolate Kelly Oubre in the left wing and knocked a 21-foot jumper as the clock strikes zero.
The Spurs are now 30-22 in the season while the Suns extend their 10-game losing streak having the record of 11-42. (Jayvee Gulfan, USC intern)