Phoenix—Keldon Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs had to act.
After a Victor Wembanyama putback slam cut the Phoenix Suns‘ lead to one point on Spurs with 6.8 seconds left Tuesday night, Josh Okogie dished to Kevin Durant while Johnson leaped out of bounds.
Tre Jones stopped Durant from moving ahead as he waited for a San Antonio foul. Johnson returned, stole the ball from Durant, and drove the basket to score with 1.2 seconds left to give the Spurs a one-point lead.
After Durant missed a clear shot, the Spurs completed a 20-point comeback and won 115-114.
“I saw Tre had him in the corner, and I was just like, s—, let’s make a play,” said Johnson. “The worst-case scenario was a foul and free throw. But we had to act. Running out of time. My strategy was to play the ball and finish it.”
The Suns saw the finish differently.
They fouled him. “Refs didn’t call it,” Suns coach Frank Vogel told reporters. “They hit him in the arm before ripping the ball from him; no call. We try to get the ball inbounds to our 90% free throw shooter in that case. And we did. But it failed.”
Vogel claimed the team didn’t utilize the timeout because Okogie’s throw to Durant was a “safe only” play. Durant secured the ball before the Johnson theft, allowing Okogie to inbound it.
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Kevin Durant argued he needed to “hold on to the ball” after Vogel said he was fouled.
Durant stated, “I expect them to trap, but it is out of my hands. I tried to make the play, but it occurred quickly. I should have kept it.”
Wembanyama, Johnson, and Vassell scored 25 fourth-quarter points. Vassell’s long 3-point effort to tie caused Wembanyama’s late putback.
Spurs On Sunday:
Vassell called the triumph “big time.” The Spurs lost 40 to the LA Clippers on Sunday.
“It kind of just shows how much we fought the whole game,” he remarked. We were down 20 at one point, and we’re young. But we’re hungry and battling.”
After an Eric Gordon 3-pointer, Phoenix led by 20 points in the third quarter, 76-56. With 5:25 remaining, the Spurs defeated the Suns after an 18-7 comeback.
Johnson, who scored 27 points, energized San Antonio and prevented a repetition of Sunday’s game, according to Vassell.
Vassell stated, “We weren’t going, and he got us going.” “He gave us energy. I sometimes think KJ gets lost. Not many mention him. Keldon Johnson is a beast, and he got us rolling in the second half.”
On Tuesday, Gregg Popovich won his 1,652nd regular-season and playoff game as Spurs coach. It was the first occasion in Popovich’s head coaching history that his team trailed by three points in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter and won in regulation, according to Elias Sports Bureau statistics.
Wembanyama and Durant met for the first time. Kevin beat Wembanyama on several occasions, including a first-quarter game-ending guarding play. Durant drove to his right, pulled up, and made a fadeaway jumper over Wembanyama’s outstretched arms for a bucket to conclude the frame as the crowd heated up at Footprint Center.
Durant, who scored 26, dubbed Wembanyama a “unique player.”
“He is going to be a force in this league for a long time,” said Durant. “Once he continues to get experience under his belt, he is going to get even better.”
Wembanyama scored 18, rebounded 8, and blocked 4 for San Antonio. He called Durant “special” and claimed he could learn a lot from him.
“I learned that I’m far from mastering the game as much as him, because I tried to do some stuff like him, but I think I’m not maybe patient enough,” said Wembanyama. It’s tempting to go too fast, but he takes his time and finds his locations. I should be inspired by that, not copied.”
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