The improved Phoenix Suns came in strong, and may have taken command of this game had Brandon Ingram not scored 22 points in the first half and contained Devin Booker (17 points, 7-17, 2 turnovers) on defense. The Suns, however, were blown out of the sky in the 3rd Quarter by a master-class showcase from San Antonio. The Spurs trailed by eight points, 65-73, forcing Coach Popovich to call timeout. Phoenix suddenly went cold as the Spurs defense heated up, and with three minutes left they now led by 10 points, courtesy of a 20-0 scoring blitz, 85-73. The Spurs won the third, 37-20.
Notably, the Suns did regain some momentum to win the 4th Quarter, 35-23 but the Spurs led for most of the quarter.
Ingram finished the game with 31 points, hitting three perimeter shots. Fred VanVleet scored 23 points, as Dejounte Murray dished 8 assists with 13 points. Andre Drummond had 13 points, 11 rebounds & 4 blocks. Trey Lyles had a bounce-back game with 13 points, going 3-3 from long range. For the Suns, DeAndre Ayton notched 26 points & 16 rebounds. Dario Saric scored 17 points with 7 rebounds, 5 assists.
