The Phoenix Suns will look to produce a final home win in a disappointing season when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in a late-season Western Conference game with nothing on the line but pride.
Both teams have been eliminated from the postseason and are using the final two games to either say goodbye to players who will be elsewhere next year or evaluate ones who have a future with their respective squads.
Phoenix (35-45) has plummeted from the play-in race over the past three weeks, losing eight straight games — all by at least 10 points. The Suns’ most recent outing, a 125-112 setback at home to league-leading Oklahoma City on Wednesday, guaranteed that they would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
“There’s not one thing or one person or one player or one coach that’s the problem,” Phoenix guard Devin Booker said. “When you’ve had a season this bad, it’s a bunch of things. I think the most frustrating part is being that close a few years ago (to an NBA title), and now being back to where we are.”
Bradley Beal paced Phoenix with 25 points, Booker had 20 points and 14 assists, and Collin Gillespie scored 17 points. Kevin Durant missed Wednesday’s game with a sprained ankle that has kept him out since April 1.
Booker said that learning from his team’s brutal performance throughout the 2024-25 season would be a key to changing things for next year.
“(It’s about) learning through the wins and the losses, continuing to get better every day, no matter what the circumstances are,” he explained. “We had spots where we did it, but it has to be something that’s turned on at all times.”
The Spurs (33-47) head to the Valley of the Sun after a rousing 114-111 win over playoff-bound Golden State on Wednesday in San Francisco. San Antonio got a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer from Harrison Barnes to snap a three-game losing streak.
“We know HB’s (Barnes) a tough shot maker, great 3-point shooter,” Spurs guard Julian Champagnie said. “He’s shown that he could make shots all year, and that’s exactly what he went out there and did.”
Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 21 points apiece in the win, with Barnes canning six 3-pointers as part of his 20-point night. With the win, San Antonio captured the season series with the Warriors 2-1.
“I’m just really proud of the guys that we just didn’t really blink,” Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. “We just never let it get too far away from us – it was always in striking distance, and we just kind of fought and clawed our way back into it. That’s a very satisfying game to coach those guys.”
The teams have split their two previous games this year, with the Suns winning at home on Dec. 3 and the Spurs returning the favor in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 20.
