A 27-point outing courtesy of Keldon Johnson willed the San Antonio Spurs to an unlikely 115-114 win over the Phoenix Suns after trailing by 20 points early in the second half.
San Antonio earnt their first lead of the night with less than two seconds to play after Johnson ripped the ball from Kevin Durant and hit what proved to be the game-winning layup much to the chagrin of the Footprint Center crowd.
With Devin Booker and Bradley Beal both watching from the sideline, Durant had an opportunity to win it at the buzzer but was unable to knock down a contested baseline jumper as the Spurs earnt their first road win of the season.
Johnson put up 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting whilst No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama added 18 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.
Devin Vassell had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals whilst Zach Collins finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
Phoenix leapt out to an 18-point half-time lead which was cut to 13 heading into the final frame and remained as high as 10 with five-and-a-half minutes remaining.
The Spurs ended the game on an 18-7 run with Wembanyama nailing a jumpshot and a putback dunk in the final minute to cut the lead to one before a frantic sequence saw Johnson put the Spurs ahead.
San Antonio scored 16 points off 19 Phoenix turnovers and won the paint battle by 16 points.
Phoenix won the rebounding battle and shot better percentages from the floor, three, and the stripe but fell short in a heartbreaker.
Durant led the way with 26 points and seven assists on 12-of-19 shooting whilst Eric Gordon added 20 points.
Grayson Allen finished with 19 points and seven rebounds shooting 5-of-7 from deep whilst Jusuf Nurkić put up a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.
These teams face off again in Phoenix on Friday with Suns coach Frank Vogel declaring that there was “no real timetable” on Booker and Beal’s returns.
