Defense Huge In Spurs In 98-84 Win

The San Antonio Spurs had six players whom had two steals a piece in the teams 98-84 win against the Phoenix Suns on Monday Night.

The Spurs defense forced 28 turnovers in their second-win. Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Tony Parker in recent games has become more aggressive in the final quarter. He finished with 20 points and eight assists.

Danny Green made four 3-pointers to finish with 18 points.

Coming in their game against the Spurs, the Suns were averaging 106.5 points, but the Spurs held them to a season-low on points. Spurs also set a team high in steals with 18. The team stepped up their defensive game Monday night and it showed.

Spurs capitalized on the miscues of the Suns as they scored 27 points off of the turnovers.

“When he’s around the ball you’ve got to be strong with it and you’ve got to be able to get rid of it without getting it knocked away.” – Suns Head Coach Jeff Hornacek on Leonard’s Defense

LaMarcus Aldridge missed his second straight game with a mild sprain to his left ankle.

On a key-run in the third quarter, Leonard had seven points, three rebounds and an assist. This sparked a 14-2 run with 4 1/2 minutes left.

Leonards play has been getting praise from just about anyone around the league. The Suns Head Coach Jeff Hornacek was another as he touched on the Spurs stars play.

“Kawhi is one of those guys defensively, he gets after it,” Hornacek said. “When he’s around the ball you’ve got to be strong with it and you’ve got to be able to get rid of it without getting it knocked away.”

Markieff Morris did all he could in keeping the Suns in the game before the run by the Spurs.  Through the first three-quarters he was a man on a mission scoring 26. In the final period, he was held to just two.

He finished with 28 in the game.

The Spurs shot 51-percent from the floor and 45-percent from beyond the arc.

Defense truly wins games. To hold a team that had an average as the Suns and were held to just 84 points, something was working right. Tim Duncan summed it up:

“We are coming around,” Duncan said. “I think defensively, we are a lot further along than offensively.”

Duncan finished with seven points, eight rebounds and two steals.

The Spurs look to remain perfect at home as they face division rivals Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday Night.

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