Keldon Johnson’s steal and score caps Spurs’ comeback vs. Suns

PHOENIX – Keldon Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs knew he had to play.

After a Victor Wembanyama dunk cut the Phoenix Suns’ lead to just one point with 6.8 seconds left Tuesday night, Suns guard Josh Okogie passed the ball to Kevin Durant as Johnson rushed out of the limits to try to play.

Spurs guard Tre Jones blocked Durant from advancing, as Durant held the ball expecting a San Antonio foul. Johnson came back into the game, collected the ball from Durant and drove the basket to lay the ball up with 1.2 left to give the Spurs a one-point advantage.

Durant didn’t get a clear look on the ensuing possession, and the Spurs completed a 20-point comeback, coming away with a 115-114 victory.

“I saw Tre had it in the corner, and I was like, fuck it, let’s make a play,” Johnson said. “The worst that could happen was they called the foul and they shot free throws. But we had to make something happen. The clock was ticking. So my mindset was just to play with the ball and, after that, try to finish it.”

The Suns didn’t see the end the same way.

“Yeah, they fouled him. The refs didn’t call it,” Suns coach Frank Vogel told reporters after the game. “They hit him in the arm, before the ball was knocked out of his hands, without appeal. But in a situation like that, we try to bring the ball within the limits of our shooting at 90% of throws frank. And we did it. But this happened. It doesn’t work.”

Vogel said the team did not use the timeout because Okogie’s inbound pass to Durant was a “safe-only” inbound play. Okogie was only supposed to get the ball to Durant if he could get it there safely, which Durant did before Johnson’s steal.

When told that Vogel said he was fouled, Durant said he still had to “keep the ball.”

“I expect them to trap,” Durant said, “but it’s out of my control. I’m trying to make the play, but it happened so fast. I should have known better. hang.”

Wembanyama, Johnson and Devin Vassell combined for 25 points in the fourth quarter. It was Vassell’s long attempt to tie the game at 3 points that led to Wembanyama’s setback late on.

Vassell described the victory, which came one game after the Spurs’ 40 loss to the LA Clippers on Sunday, as “a great moment.”

“It shows how hard we fought throughout the game,” Vassell said. “It wasn’t pretty; obviously we were down 20 at one point, and we’re a young group. But we’re fighting and we’re hungry.”

Phoenix led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, taking a 76-56 lead on a 3-pointer from Eric Gordon. The Suns also led by 10 with 5:25 to play, before the Spurs closed with a score of 18-7 to seal the victory.

Vassell credited Johnson, who finished with a game-high 27 points, for energizing San Antonio and not letting the game turn into a repeat of Sunday’s performance.

“We weren’t going, and he just kept us going,” Vassell said. “He brought the energy that we needed. KJ, sometimes I feel like he gets lost. People don’t talk about him. I mean, Keldon Johnson, he’s a beast, and he Really got us going in the second half.”

Tuesday’s victory was Gregg Popovich’s 1,652nd combined regular season and playoff victory as Spurs coach. According to research from the Elias Sports Office, this was the first time in Popovich’s head coaching career that his team trailed by three points in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter and won the game by regulation time.

“We weren’t going, and he just kept us going. He brought the energy we needed. KJ, sometimes I feel like he gets lost. People don’t talk about him. I mean, Keldon Johnson, he’s a beast, and he really got us going in the second half.

Devin Vassell on Spurs teammate Keldon Johnson

The contest also marked the first matchup between Wembanyama and Durant.

Durant got the better of Wembanyama a few times, including a play late in the first quarter when the rookie guarded the veteran. As the buzz grew among the crowd at the Footprint Center, Durant headed to his right, stopped and hit a fadeaway jumper over Wembanyama’s outstretched arms for a bucket to end the frame.

Durant, who finished with 26 points, called Wembanyama a “unique player.”

“He’s going to be a force in this league for a long time,” Durant said. “Once he gains experience, he will become even better.”

Wembanyama had 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for San Antonio. He said Durant was “special” as a player and could still take a lot out of him.

“I learned that I’m nowhere near mastering the game as much as him, because I’ve tried to do things like him but I think maybe I’m not patient enough,” Wembanyama said. “I think I want to go too fast, but he goes at his pace and goes to his places. I think I have to, not copy that, but take inspiration from it.”