On December 4, Beijing time, a key matchup in the 2024-25 NBA Cup Western Group B is underway, and the Suns defeated the Spurs 104-93 at home, but the Suns missed the NBA Cup top 8 and unfortunately exited. It is worth mentioning that Suns star Durant accidentally stepped on Champagnie with his left foot during the breakthrough in the second quarter and missed the second half of the game due to an ankle sprain, Durant played a total of 16 minutes and 29 seconds, 5 of 8, 2 of 2 three-pointers, and contributed 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

Statistics

Spurs: Wembanyama 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, Chris Paul 2 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals, Castle 16 points

Suns: Booker had 29 points and 9 rebounds, with a career regular season total of 15,028 points and a career total of more than 15,000 points; Beal had 10 points and nine rebounds

Background

The Spurs narrowly beat the Kings 127-125 in their last game, have won five of their last six games and currently sit in 10th place in the West with an 11-8 record. Wembanyama had 34 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the win over the Kings, his third career triple-double and the fourth of his last seven games to score more than 30 points. So far this season, Wembanyama has averaged 24 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.5 blocks per game, and has made five three-pointers in 17 games, making him the team's number one man.

The Suns beat the Warriors 113-105 in their last game, and after a five-game losing streak, the Suns have won two of their last three games and are currently in seventh place in the West with an 11-8 record. It is worth mentioning that against the Spurs today, Nurkic continued to miss the game, and Beal returned to play, Beal missed the last game against the Warriors due to a left calf injury, which was also the 10th physical appearance of the season for Durant, Booker and Beal.

Game recap

With just 23 seconds left in the game, Booker scored on a mid-range jumper, his first athletic score of the game, and his career regular season total of 15,001 points was reached. Durant and Jones followed suit with the ball to the basket as the Suns got off to an 11-0 run. Castle's layup helped the Spurs open the way, and Champagnie and Vassell also hit three-pointers one after another. At 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the comeback Sochan made a self-throwing and self-stealing basket, and the Spurs chased the score to 19-21. At the critical moment, Booker stood up and hit two three-pointers in a row, directing a wave of 8-0 small climaxes. At the end of the first quarter, the Suns led the Spurs 29-19. It is worth mentioning that Wembanyama shot 0-of-5 in the first quarter, 0-of-4 three-pointers, and had a plus/minus of -16. The Spurs shot just 33.3 percent from the field (8-of-24) in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Spurs came up with a wave of 7-2 mini-climax, narrowing the gap to 5 points. At 8 minutes and 36 seconds, Durant and Beal connected and shot three points. Immediately afterwards, Durant singled Wembanyama to win. At 7:13, Wembanyama made another turnover, Dunn scored on a fast break, and the Suns rewrote the score to 38-26 and forced the Spurs to stop. The game restarted, and Vassell scored five points in a row to help the Spurs stabilize their position. At 4 minutes and 30 seconds, Durant accidentally stepped on Champagnie with his left foot when he broke through, and after falling to the ground, he covered his ankle with a very painful expression, but he still insisted on fighting and threw a mid-range shot. The Suns went from strength to strength, while the Spurs were weak on both ends of the floor, scoring just one goal in the final three and a half minutes of the quarter. At the end of the first half, the Spurs trailed the Suns 39-52. In addition, Wembanyama shot 0-of-7 in the half, 0-of-6 from three-point range, and did not score a point. The Spurs shot just 36.4 percent from the field (16-of-44) and 10 percent (2-of-20) from three-point range in the half.

Yibian fought again, Durant did not play for a long time, still treating his ankle in the locker room, without his containment, the situation on the court changed abruptly, and Wembanyama, who shot 0 in the first half, finally found his touch, and scored 12 points in a row to help the Spurs chase the score to 57-59. To add insult to injury, Booker picked up his fourth foul of the game with 7:34 left in the quarter. At the critical moment, O'Neal and Jones teamed up to hit two three-pointers, and the Suns regained a 10-point advantage. However, the Spurs were attacking fiercely at this time, Castle hit a three-pointer, and Johnson and Sochan hit a 2+1 in succession. At the end of the third quarter, the Spurs trailed the Suns 71-75.

In the final quarter, Booker and Beal teamed up to play a 14-2 offensive surge, and the Suns rewrote the score to 89-73. The Spurs didn't give up, Johnson and Vassell combined for five points, and the Spurs once again narrowed the gap to 12 points. After returning from the timeout, O'Neal scored five points in a row to help the Suns stabilize the morale of the army. At 3:53, Wembanyama hit his first three-pointer of the game. Immediately afterwards, Booker took over the game, and after playing 2+1 on Sochan, he relied on stable free throws to defend the Suns' lead. Although the Spurs followed suit, the Suns didn't give their opponents any chance to turn the game around.

Both sides start

Spurs: Victor Wembanyama, Chris Paul, Julian Champagnie, Harrison Barnes, Stephen Castle

Suns: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Tyus Jones, Oso Iguodaro