Jeremy Sochan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs is surrounded by teammates after his late three-pointer gave the Spurs a 104-102 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Frost Bank Center on March 25, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. Ronald Cortés/Getty Images/AFP
SAN ANTONIO – Jeremy Sochan scored a key 3-point basket in the final minute and finished with 26 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as San Antonio beat the Phoenix Suns 104-102 Monday night with Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama sidelined due to injury.
Devin Vassell added 26 points for the spurs and celebrated the victory by shouting into the stadium microphone after the match: “It’s a big victory. It’s a big victory.
Devin Booker scored 36 points and Kevin Durant added 29 as Phoenix split a two-game set at San Antonio.
“I was confident… I asked for the ball… no matter what I believe in myself”
Jérémie Sochan wanted the ball before his winning 3-pointer 💯 pic.twitter.com/P2p7IQob9N
-NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2024
“Disappointed,” Phoenix guard Bradley Beal said. “We definitely laid an egg. We arrived thinking it was going to be easy, no Wemby. … They were aggressive, like coach told us, and we didn’t respond. We did not do it. Did not respond.”
Beal came off three minutes from time after spraining his right ring finger. Suns coach Frank Vogel said X-rays were negative for any structural damage, but Beal’s status remains undetermined.
The Suns outscored the Spurs 14-7 in the final five minutes, but Sochan’s 3-point basket in 29 seconds was the difference. Booker and Durant missed potential game-winning 3-pointers in the final seconds.
“I was confident,” Sochan said. “Even at the beginning, I was asking for the ball, I had my hands in the air. I felt like the last two games the ball wasn’t coming to me from the 3-point line. But whatever happens, I believe in myself.
The spurs were without Wembanyama, who was out with a sprained left ankle. He was injured in Saturday’s loss to Phoenix.
Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell each score 26, with Sochan knocking down the game winner, to lead the Spurs past the Suns!
Sochan: 26 PTS, 18 REB
Vassell: 26 PTS, 7 AST, 3 STL pic.twitter.com/fQuGczkLT2-NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2024
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said the injury was not serious and that it was “a little better than 50-50” that Wembanyama would play Wednesday at Utah.
After being knocked out on Saturday by Phoenix with Wembanyama, the Spurs unexpectedly turned things around without him.
“It’s a key piece that we’re missing, and I think it forces us to be more connected in that sense if we’re missing it,” Sochan said. “We have to do what he does, whether it’s defending, rebounding, making it difficult for people to score in the paint, because we don’t have him as a key component.”
The loss could prove critical for Phoenix, which next faces 10 straight playoff teams, starting Wednesday in Denver.
“It’s unacceptable to lose this game for our guys,” Vogel said. “We all said the right things, we all did the right preparation to go in, but we didn’t play with the necessary concentration and disposition throughout, I would say, the first half. You give the life to a team like that and that’s how the NBA works. … With Victor out, these guys played very well.
Phoenix (42-30) is eighth in the Western Conference, a few percentage points behind Sacramento (41-29) and Dallas (41-29) in the race for the sixth and final spot to avoid the play-in tournament.
After trailing by 32 points in Saturday’s 131-106 loss, San Antonio was much better in the rematch — just as Phoenix expected.
“I don’t want to disrespect our opponents,” Booker said. “These guys are NBA guys and they have some talented young players there. … We weren’t caught off guard. We knew what to expect.
The Suns needed Durant and Booker in the final quarter after both missing the fourth in Saturday’s win, with the Spurs trailing by 25 points in the fourth.
San Antonio went on a 16-0 run between the third and fourth quarters, turning a nine-point deficit in the third into an 83-74 lead two minutes into the fourth.
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San Antonio closed its record eight home games with two victories, including one in Austin as part of the franchise’s regional outreach.
NEXT SCHEDULE
Suns: At Denver on Wednesday.
Spurs: at Utah on Wednesday.
