With Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, the Phoenix Suns have high championship aspirations this season. Unfortunately, this fearful trio has not led the Suns to a whole lot of success during the regular season, as they have once again fallen into the play-in region of the Western Conference standings following a shocking 104-102 road loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. To make matters worse, the Suns couldn't beat a 15-win Spurs team that was without superstar rookie Victor Wembanyama.
Interestingly enough, three of the Spurs' 16 wins this season have come against Phoenix. Sometimes, certain teams just match up well with other teams around the league. This may be the case with the Spurs having the Suns' number this season, but that doesn't make Monday's loss any less disappointing for Phoenix.
There are just 10 games remaining on the schedule for the Suns, leaving little time for them to find a way out of the play-in region of the standings. To make matters even worse, Durant and Co. own the league's toughest schedule the rest of the way, as matchups against the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves approach.
After this surprising loss in San Antonio, it is clear to see there are frustrations mounting in the Suns' locker room.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker unleash frustrations
On Saturday, March 23, the Suns defeated the Spurs 131-106 behind Booker's game-high 32 points. Durant finished with 25 points in this game, and Beal ended up with a 13-point, 12-assist double-double. Everything that could've gone right for the Suns went right.
This was not the case on Monday, as the Suns offense was caught in the mud, and they could never go on a run to pull away from the Spurs. As a result, they went on to lose, resulting in them falling from the 6-seed in the West to being the 8-seed behind the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.
Durant, who was visibly upset after this loss, did not hold back in his postgame remarks.
“Unacceptable,” Durant stated, via Duane Rankin of AZCentral. “Shouldn't lose that game, especially after how we beat them last game… We gotta be better.”
The Suns defeated the Spurs by 25 points just two days prior to Monday night's debacle. From scoring 131 points on Saturday to only 102 points on Monday night, the Suns' inconsistencies on offense and their inability to close out games once again played a major role in their demise.
Booker also spoke with reporters after the game, expanding his thoughts on Durant calling this loss “unacceptable” for the Suns.
“I'm not into disrespecting opponents. These guys are NBA guys. They have some talented young players over there,” Booker said, via Rankin. “Just the flow — a lot of overthinking. I think everybody is feeling the pressure of end season. You can only control what you can control, and just go out there and play. Just keep playing.
Phoenix is now 42-30 on the season following this loss to the Spurs. They currently reside a half-game behind both the Kings and Mavs for the 6-seed and 7-seed in the West, respectively. As far as tiebreakers go, Dallas owns the season tiebreaker over the Suns. The Kings and Suns each won two matchups against one another this season. They will play again for the final time on April 12.
Following this disappointing loss to the Spurs, the Suns will need to regroup quickly before they continue their current five-game road trip against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. Against the defending NBA champions right ahead of the start of the postseason, this is a golden opportunity for the Suns to get back on track and mask their ugly defeat to the Spurs.
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