The Suns got a strong preseason win Wednesday night in Downtown Phoenix, taking down Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs 102-98.
Phoenix moved to 1-2 with two preseason games still left before its season opener on October 21st, and it did so without Devin Booker and Miles Bridges. Jordan Ott said the plan was for players not to appear in all five preseason games, and this was the night off for those two.
Even with a different starting five, the Suns got a sharp performance from their first unit. Luke Kennard finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting and hit 4-of-10 from three, while also adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 25 minutes. Jalen Green followed with 18 points, and Dillon Brooks chipped in 15.
Khaman Maluach was the other major headline. In his first preseason start, he made it count with 10 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 1 steal on 4-for-9 shooting in 23 minutes. He finished plus-14 and looked comfortable right away against Wembanyama’s length.
Phoenix came out firing and set the tone early. The Suns jumped to a 22-11 lead behind hot shooting from Green, Kennard, Jordan Goodwin and Brooks, and they opened by hitting 6 of their first 8 shots from three.
Green poured in 12 points in the first quarter alone, while Kennard kept pressing the issue, showing he can do more than just spot up and launch. He knocked down threes, attacked closeouts, got to his spots and moved without the ball.
The Suns led 35-25 after one, even though the Spurs had the edge in fastbreak points, 15-4. Phoenix made up for that by scoring off turnovers and cleaning up on the offensive glass. The lead grew to as many as 15 before San Antonio trimmed it before halftime.
At the break, Phoenix was ahead 58-51. Green had 16 points to lead all scorers, and Dylan Harper paced the Spurs with 13.
The third quarter belonged to Maluach. Wembanyama didn’t begin the second half on the floor, checking in 1 minute and 4 seconds into the period, and Maluach immediately went after him.
He grabbed an offensive rebound over Wemby for a put-back, then on the next possession ripped down his 12th rebound, finished at the rim right at Wemby again, and followed that by drilling a three. The Suns outscored the Spurs by five in the quarter and stretched the margin to 12.
By the end of three, Phoenix was up 85-73. Brooks and Green each logged about nine minutes in the quarter before calling it a night, and the rest of the game turned over to the bench.
The fourth quarter brought plenty of Jamaree Bouyea, Haywood Highsmith and Rasheer Fleming, along with appearances from Koby Brea and Koa Peat. The finish got messy in the way preseason games often do, but Phoenix still held on after the Spurs cut the lead to four with 12 seconds remaining.
In Other News...
Luke Kennard Is Giving The Suns More Than They Expected On The Wing
Grayson Allen set a pretty specific benchmark for the Suns wing spot during his three seasons in Phoenix, giving them steady spacing, a reliable scoring punch and the kind of perimeter production that fit cleanly into the rotation. Luke Kennard has stepped into that conversation quickly in preseason, and the early returns have suggested he can offer more than just another shooting threat. In three games, he has averaged 12.3 points while also showing he can help organize the offense some, handing out 10 assists against 3 turnovers.
Kennards appeal to the Suns goes beyond whether he can chase Allens old role one for one. The shooting profile is different, the volume is different and the style is different, but Phoenix has already seen enough to know he can add layers to the wing group instead of simply blending into it. For a team looking for dependable spacing and a little extra creation, that makes the rest of his preseason worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Khaman Maluach Is Giving The Suns A Real Frontcourt Decision
Khaman Maluachs preseason has given the Suns something they did not necessarily expect this soon: a real conversation in the middle of the frontcourt. With Mark Williams sidelined for several months, the rookie center has stepped into a far bigger role than planned, and his recent work has done more than just keep the spot warm. A 10-point, 15-rebound outing against the Spurs only added to the sense that Phoenix has found a young big man who can handle real minutes right away.
Jordan Ott and Dillon Brooks have both praised Maluachs performance and progress, and that matters in a camp where opportunity is open but trust still has to be earned. The question now is not whether the Suns like what they have seen, but how far they are willing to go with it when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Kennard Is Giving The Suns A Reason To Believe In This Fit
Luke Kennard has given the Suns something to feel good about in the preseason, and that matters for a team trying to sort out its rotation before the games count. With Devin Booker out of the lineup, Kennard has stepped into a starting role and shown why Phoenix wanted him in the mix, bringing the kind of shooting and secondary creation that can fit next to the Suns core.
The larger expectation, though, is that Kennards value will come when he shifts back to the bench and settles into a reserve role. Phoenix is counting on him to stretch the floor and handle a little playmaking in those second-unit minutes, and his early comfort level has made that plan look more promising than it might have seemed on paper. The real test comes once the rotation tightens and the regular season begins. [Read more 🡒]