National Basketball Association
San Antonio 117, Phoenix 89
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 21, 2016
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials: #47 Bennie Adams, #10 Ron Garretson, #73 Tre Maddox
Attendance: 16779

PHOENIX -- Both San Antonio and Phoenix played without two starters Thursday, not that it fazed the Spurs. Once again, the Suns could not keep up.

San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard celebrated his selection as an All-Star starter with 21 points, and reserve center Boban Marjanovic had his first career double-double in the Spurs' 117-89 victory over the Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

"You still have to play to your own standards, but obviously it's not a fair fight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I feel badly for the Suns. They were aggressive the whole way. They were just outmanned."

Marjanovic, who is 7-foot-3, had 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as the Spurs (37-6) won their 12th consecutive game while matching the 2010-11 team for the best 43-game start in franchise history.

The Spurs' bench outscored the starters, 66-51, with reserve forward Jonathon Simmons contributing 13 points.

"I try to be help the team the best I can," said Marjanovic, the MVP of the Serbian Super League the last three seasons. "Just play good defense. This is the key. When the offense comes, it comes."

The Spurs played without center Tim Duncan and point guard Tony Parker, and the Suns were without point guard Brandon Knight and power forward Markieff Morris. Knight is the team's scorer at 19.7 points a game.

The Suns also did not have backup power forwards Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic because of injuries, and starting forward P.J. Tucker played only six minutes before being sidelined after taking a knee to the sternum. Phoenix finished the game with eight players in uniform.

"It's tough when you don't have a true point guard out there," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said.

The Spurs never trailed, and they led by as many as 31 points while closing within two games of the Golden State Warriors (39-4) for the best record in the league.

Rookie shooting guard Devin Booker had 24 points, and guard Archie Goodwin, who started at the point, had a season-high 20 points as the Suns (13-31) lost their sixth straight and fell for the 15th time in the past 16 games.

"It's tough," Booker said. "The Spurs are obviously a really good team, and we are down a lot of players. We know we are less talented. We just have to play harder. Today more people went down, so I feel like toward the end we started wearing down a little bit."

Suns reserve forward T.J. Warren had 18 points, and center Tyson Chandler had a season-high 20 rebounds and eight points.

Spurs guard Ray McCallum had 11 points while starting at the point in place of Parker, who was held out after aggravating a hip injury in the third quarter of a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

San Antonio beat the Suns for the third straight time in their four-game season series, winning by 33, 14 and 28 points.

"They are still an NBA team," Leonard said. "You have to go out and respect them, really execute your plays. Make sure we are in our defensive rotations. It also tests your mental (focus).

"Our bench was great. They came in and played great defense, got out in transition, got some easy layups, and ran the offense very well."

San Antonio scored 11 of the first 15 points. The Suns closed within 25-22 early in the second quarter, but the Spurs countered by scoring 13 straight points during a 17-2 run early in the second quarter for a 42-24 lead.

The Suns got within 69-63 on a Booker 3-pointer with 3:15 left in the third quarter before the Spurs went on a 19-6 run.

NOTES: Suns G Brandon Knight (left adductor) missed his second game of the season after playing 40 minutes, 44 seconds of a 97-94 loss to Indiana on Tuesday. F Markieff Morris (right shoulder) sustained his injury when he lost his balance and jammed the ball into the rim attempting a slam dunk against Indiana. F Jon Leuer (back spasms) and F Mirza Teletovic (left ankle) also were injured against Indiana. ... Spurs C Tim Duncan turns 40 on April 25. "I just decided to rest him," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. ... Spurs F Kawhi Leonard will start his first All-Star Game after results of the final fan voting were announced Thursday. Leonard, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, joins G George Gervin, F Larry Kenon, G Alvin Robertson, C David Robinson and F Tim Duncan as Spurs' All-Star starters. ... The Suns signed F Cory Jefferson to a 10-day contract Thursday. ... Suns G Devin Booker became the third player in NBA history to score at least 30 points at age 19 years, 81 days when he had 32 points Tuesday. LeBron James (11 such games) and Kevin Durrant (three) are the others.
Top Game Performances
 
San Antonio   Phoenix
Kawhi Leonard 21 Scoring Devin Booker 24
Boris Diaw 4 Assists Devin Booker 5
Boban Marjanovic 13 Rebounds Tyson Chandler 20
Kawhi Leonard 8 Free Throws Made Archie Goodwin 8
Patty Mills 2 Steals Archie Goodwin 1
Boris Diaw 2 Blocks Alex Len 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
San Antonio 117 48.8 9-14 24-28 24 43 6 8 8
Phoenix 89 39.5 6-18 19-23 18 43 4 3 15
Upcoming Games
  • Phoenix will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Suns have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .300 after a loss.
  • San Antonio will play their next game on the road against L.A. Lakers. The Spurs have a W/L % of .838 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.