5 things learned from Phoenix Suns' meltdown loss to Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

The Phoenix Suns still are without Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who hasn’t played in a regular season game with his new team.

So that left all the attention on Kevin Durant facing rookie phenomenon Victor Wembanyama in their first matchup Tuesday.

The game proved to be much more than that.

Phoenix blew a 20-point lead in an 115-114 collapse to the San Antonio Spurs before a stunned sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center. The Spurs closed the game on a 6-0 run as Keldon Johnson took the ball away from Durant on a trap and scored inside to put San Antonio ahead with 1.2 seconds left.

Johnson finished with a game-high 27 points and Wembanyama finished with 18 points and eight rebounds while Durant led the Suns with 26 and Eric Gordon added 20.

Durant had a chance to win the game at the end, but he missed a fadeaway shot at the buzzer.

Here are five things learned in Tuesday's game, with the Suns (2-2) and Spurs (2-2) set to meet again Thursday in Phoenix.

Phoenix couldn’t close

The Suns had looked so good offensively only to struggle finding looks late. They looked rushed, only scored 19 points in the fourth quarter and committed four turnovers in the game’s final 12 minutes.

Their defense allowed the Spurs to shoot 7-of-12 from 3 to get back in the game. The Suns kept going under the screen and San Antonio started making them pay in that third quarter.

San Antonio outscored Phoenix, 70-51, in the second half.

Call it a case of letting their guard down, but as Eric Gordon said, the Suns “know better.”

Yes, they’re without Booker and Beal, but in both losses, the Suns have folded in the fourth.

The Suns got a 26-point effort from Durant, but he had five turnovers. He had eight against the Lakers.

The Suns shot 46.2% from 3, but they couldn’t buy one in the fourth in going 2-of-10.

Shooting and turnovers aside, all they had to do was handle their next to last offensive possession and the Suns likely have a 3-point lead with under five seconds left.

Durant said he needed to be stronger with the ball. Coach Frank Vogel felt Durant got fouled.

Either way, the Suns are learning they just can’t relax, especially without two of their three best players.

Booker, Beal update

Frank Vogel was asked pregame if Booker (left ankle sprain) and Beal (low back spasms) would be available for Thursday’s game as Booker hasn’t seen action since his 32-point night in the regular-season opener Phoenix won at Golden State.

“I don’t know,” he said. “There's no real timetable on that right now."

Vogel later said Booker and Beal have been doing most of their conditioning in the weight room as the two have been doing light on-court shooting as well.

What's happening with Booker, Beal? Suns stars still out with injuries

When later asked if the Suns were being cautious with Beal because it is his back, Vogel said he doesn’t think it’s about being cautious.

“He’s got an injury that has a timeline and a treatment plan to try to get it right,” Vogel said. “Until that's behind him, then we'll see him out there.”

Vogel was finally asked if Booker was closer to returning than Beal.

“I can’t really say that,” Vogel said.

Durant vs. Wembanyama

They were bound to matchup against each other, but Durant made sure it happened right out the box as he guarded him to open the game.

Then late in the first quarter, Durant walked the ball up the court with Wembanyama waiting on the other end.

Nice. Let’s go.

Not using Jordan Goodwin’s screen, Durant drove right on Wembanyama, went to the stepback and hit a baseline fadeaway jumper over the outstretched 7-foot-4 rookie to end the quarter.

Then Durant dunked over Wembanyama off a backdoor cut on an inbounds play late in the second quarter, but Wembanyama got him back on a crossover dribble and rose over Drew Eubanks for the one-extended handed flush.

Durant just stood there as he rushed out to Wembanyama, who took advantage of that.

This was fun to watch.

Opinion: Let's relax on comparing rookie Victor Wembanyama to Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo

It’s clear Wembanyama isn’t on Durant’s level. Durant guarding him also showed he was ready for this matchup as he stole the ball from him early in the game.

Wembanyama is going to have more than his share of these moments playing against the NBA’s best, but he responded late to help his team pull out the stunner.

Spacing

The Suns continue to improve their spacing with Durant being the primary facilitator. He finished the game with seven assists as each one led to a 3-pointer.

He found Yuta Watanabe for back-to-back 3s late in the third quarter to put Phoenix ahead 15 points.

Watanabe put on a show for the home folks as his parents are in town from Japan. Nine-hour flight from Japan to Los Angeles, then another hour and change from LAX to Phoenix.

The Suns have figured out how to play with just one of the Big 3 in the lineup as they finished 18-of-39 from 3. Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, Gordon and Watanabe combined for 14-of-25 on 3s.

However, the Suns only went 2-of-10 on 3s in the final quarter, with Jusuf Nurkic hitting both. They were huge shots, but the Suns needing Nurkic to be the hero in that fashion wasn’t ideal.

They lost rhythm offensively and looked rushed, which again begs the question of needing a primary ball handler at the point guard position. They’ll have to make the adjustment once Booker and Beal return, but the Suns now know they can play with just one of their main guys and score.

They just failed to finish.

Wembanyama review

Saw him in NBA Summer League in Vegas. He’s not bigger, maybe a little stronger, but Wembanyama is a better player now than he was back then.

He really showed up in the fourth quarter. Scoring 9 of his 18 points in the fourth on 4-of-5 shooting, Wembanyama hit a jumper and a had a two-handed follow dunk to cut Phoenix’s lead to two with 6.8 seconds left.

Wembanyama had a ridiculous over the head shot earlier in the fourth in which he just flipped the ball off the glass and drew the foul.

Then Wembanyama found Cedi Osman inside after putting traditional big Nurkic on skates. That pulled the Spurs within five points with 8:22 left in the game.

Vogel probably didn’t want to put Durant back in the game, but he did coming out of the timeout.

That’s a win for the Spurs and Wembanyama before they got the actual victory because they forced the favored Suns to come back with their best player.

Now Wembanyama looked to score with 7:15 left and Phoenix down, 100-93, and Durant scored on the other end over him.

Timeout Spurs down nine with 6:42 remaining. He went to the bench, but Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went back to him late and his rookie delivered.

Wembanyama has some improving and developing to do, but he’s a tremendous talent and understands the moment. That’s early signs of someone who wants to win.

The Spurs get better players around him then Wembanyama is really going to be able to show what he can do.

Have opinions about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns fold late in home loss to San Antonio Spurs