Spurs pace Suns 103-89 on Manu’s hot hand: Recap, highlights, and more

The San Antonio Spurs toppled the Phoenix Suns 103-89 on Friday evening in spite of their two sidelined starters. They’ve improved to 27-13 on the season and stand firm at third in the Western Conference.

It’s no surprise that San Antonio was able to pull out this victory, as Phoenix has now lost three of their last four games and have been abysmal in terms of efficiency all season long. The Spurs have won all but two of their games at home this season and defeated Phoenix just under a month ago. With this win, they improved their current home winning streak to 13 at the AT&T Center.

Now with star forward Kawhi Leonard back in the lineup, San Antonio has begun to pick up steam. He finished the night with a full stat line of 21 points, four steals, three assists, three rebounds and three blocks. Even after missing a large chunk of games to begin the season, Leonard has entered attack mode for Coach Popovich.

Fans suspect that veteran Manu Ginobili received a fresh delivery of “Grandpa Juice” before hitting the court because of his stellar performance. Ginobili stunned the Suns with 21 points on the night including a massive 15-point third quarter which preserved the game-sealing lead despite some sloppy play from the rest of the team.

Pop after watching Ginobili continue to defy the aging process with a season-high 21 points, including 15 in the 3Q: " “He is something else. Whatever he is drinking, I want some of that. I’m serious. There has got to be a fountain of youth someplace.” #Spurs

— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) January 6, 2018

Even at age 40, Ginobili’s shooting percentages are sky high. He finished the night 7-10 from the field including 3-4 from behind the arc. He also managed to rack up three assists and two steals in the contest. Ginobili continues to be the glue that holds together San Antonio’s core.

The Spurs’ out of character three-point shooting woes continued tonight as they hit just 11 of their 30 attempts from deep. Leonard specifically has struggled to find his shooting rhythm through his seven games played. He’s shooting only 29.4 percent from three in his young season and shot just 1-6 from behind the arc tonight.

With that being said, Leonard is still adjusting to game pace. Popovich continues to limit his minutes and has rested him frequently, so it may just be a matter of readapting to his shot.

1⃣3⃣ straight home wins!

Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard each score 21 PTS to lead the @Spurs over the @Suns 103-89!

Devin Booker: 21 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST pic.twitter.com/7h2K35SKKA

— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2018

With LaMarcus Aldridge resting and Danny Green nursing a left groin injury, Bryn Forbes and Pau Gasol stepped up to the plate. Forbes, who has often been endearingly nicknamed “the Walking Bucket,” scored 16 points as a starter. He’s been a go-to option for Popovich when replacing injured or resting players in the backcourt.

Gasol put together another great performance with 15 points on 75 percent shooting to go with seven rebounds. Similarly to Aldridge, Gasol has proved the worth of his contract with strong play this season. As a distributor, rebounder and leader, Gasol is a vital member of this Spurs locker room.

Highlights

GRANDPA JUICE! @manuginobili dropped a season-high 21 points tonight ? https://t.co/9QvRIyE4iM

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 6, 2018

21 PTS 3 BLK + 4 STL ____________ KAWHILIGHTS

(Kawhi Leonard #NBAVOTE) pic.twitter.com/COTdaVgzK4

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 6, 2018

BRANDON. PAUL. pic.twitter.com/84mhctoDfd

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 6, 2018

Bryn ? https://t.co/u51sn2GCB9

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 6, 2018

Next: San Antonio Spurs: New Year’s resolutions for 2018

San Antonio will kick off a three-game road trip on Sunday evening when they face Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum in Portland. They narrowly defeated the Trail Blazers in their last meeting, so this may be another fun matchup.