Suns suffer 'unacceptable' loss vs. Victor Wembanyama-less Spurs - ESPN

SAN ANTONIO — Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal didn't mince words on Monday night following a disappointing performance.

The Suns, two days removed from beating the San Antonio Spurs by 25, played the same team in the same arena, and this time the Spurs were missing star rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Yet the Spurs flipped the script with a 104-102 victory.

«It's disappointment,» Beal told reporters after the game. «We came in here and laid an egg. We thought it was going to be easy with no Wemby. Just got our ass kicked. They came out aggressive, just like Coach told us they would, and we didn't respond. Well, we did, but we didn't withstand their punches.»

The loss sent the Suns to 42-30 on the season. It was also their third loss in four chances against the Spurs, who are the last in the Western Conference.

«It's just unacceptable to lose that game,» Suns coach Frank Vogel said. «For our guys, we all said the right things. We all did the right preparation. But we didn't play with the necessary focus in this position throughout, I would say, the first half.»

Phoenix now sets off on the toughest final stretch of any team in the NBA while in the midst of a tight race to stay out of the Western Conference play-in. The Suns' final 10 opponents have a combined winning percentage of .648.

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it's the toughest final 10-game stretch since the 2015-16 Memphis Grizzlies, who had two games each against the 67-15 Spurs and the 73-9 Golden State Warriors.

When asked a question about the schedule, Vogel abruptly answered.

«We like our chances against anybody,» he said. «We don't worry about the schedule.»

Phoenix tried to take command in the third quarter, but the Spurs answered with a 16-2 run