San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns: One for the record books

The San Antonio Spurs manhandled the Phoenix Suns 111-86 with Gregg Popovich and Bryn Forbes earning new career-best marks.

Now in his third season with the San Antonio Spurs, Bryn “The Walking Bucket” Forbes has become a consistent producer at the guard position. Over the course of his first two years in the league, he was prone to a breakout game on occasion but played a contained style that was largely confined within his role.

After re-signing in the offseason, the murmurs from summer training camp emerged saying that Dejounte Murray and Forbes were looking better than ever. The devastating injury to Murray opened up extra minutes for Forbes to step into and now, he’s leading the team to victories.

Forbes finished with a season-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and a hit all five of his attempts from behind the arc. He also set a new career-high in rebounds with 11. We’ve seen Forbes improve his shooting efficiency in each year he’s been in the league, so big games like this were always in the cards for the former-Spartan. Forbes was one of five Spurs to reach double figures in the contest.

His efforts allowed head coach Gregg Popovich to limit the minutes of his All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan. They played 25 minutes a piece as Aldridge scored 18 points on 50 percent shooting while DeRozan tacked on nine assists. He finished with a season-low 5 points but don’t be too alarmed, the team was clicking on offense and DeRozan has no reason to force the issue. He finished the night with a season-low six shots in the game.

In addition to DeRozan and Aldridge, small forward Rudy Gay logged an effective 25 minutes with 13 points, 4 rebounds, two steals and the play of the game on his lone block. Phoenix’s Josh Jackson elevated for a one-handed jam on the baseline which Gay promptly swatted, gathered and laid up on the other end for two points. He’s been a joy for the Spurs this season, posting improved numbers across the board from last year.

Extended the win streak to 3️⃣ tonight!

Highlights ?? https://t.co/F8zqAPI9rp

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 12, 2018

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With this victory, Popovich surpassed Pat Riley as fourth-place on the All-Time wins list for head coaches. He’s now tied with Jerry Sloan for third with 1,221 career victories. It would take Pop 125 more wins to solidify himself as No. 1 coach in the history of the sport in that regard, but he’s already got the title in the minds of many well-informed observers.

Even in the absence of sharpshooter Davis Bertans, who has missed two straight games due to personal reasons, the Spurs continue to sling shots from deep at an impressive clip. They hit 13-of-21 threes for 61.9 percent of their jumpers from range. Forward Dante Cunningham returned from a brief one-game absence to score 14 points and hit all four of his treys.

As sophomore Derrick White works to find his shot, the cunning guard continues to impact the game in other ways. He played excellent defense on Phoenix’s guards and finished with four points, seven assists, three steals and three boards. Shots simply weren’t falling for the 24-year-old but once they do, he’ll become a force to be reckoned with.

San Antonio will look to improve its win streak to four games when the surging Los Angeles Clippers come to town on Thursday.