The Spurs ended their 5-game winning streak! Wenban made 6 mistakes and the second place player retired due to injury. In this game, I completely recognized these 3 stars.

Edit|Old Kankanqiu

On November 3, the NBA 2025-26 season ushered in the focus of the Western Conference. The Phoenix Suns sat at home and faced the San Antonio Spurs. What is surprising is that the Spurs have played so amazingly this season. Although the team's core Fox and Sohan are both absent due to injuries, with the outstanding performance of Wenban Yama and this year's second pick Harper, the team has won 5 consecutive victories and has not yet lost. The most important thing is that the team's defensive efficiency (103.8) and net rating (14.4 points) so far both rank first in the league, which is really amazing.

As a comparison, after the Suns sent away Durant and bought out Beal in the offseason, the team's paper strength and competitiveness have declined. Currently, they only rank 12th in the Western Conference with a record of 2 wins and 4 losses, and they can compete for lottery picks. Before the game, US media ESPN predicted the winning rate of this game. The Spurs have a clear advantage of 67.1, while the Suns have a winning rate of only 32.9%.

In terms of the starting lineup for this game, for the Suns, Jaylen Green (right hamstring strain), Dillon Brooks (core muscle strain), and Isaiah Livers (right hip contusion) are absent. Coach Kidd’s starting five is: Booker, Ah Len, Dunn, O'Neal, Mark Williams; on the Spurs side, Fox, Sohan, Kornet, Olynyk and Waters III missed the game due to injuries. The starting lineup is: Stephen Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champany, Harrison Barnes, Victor Vunbanyama.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Vassell broke through the emergency stop with the ball and then turned around and hit a jump shot steadily, giving the Spurs the lead. Allen caught the ball at the top of the arc and converted a three-pointer. He immediately returned the favor, then counterattacked quickly and faced Castle to complete a one-handed dunk. The Suns went ahead 8-2 and stopped the Spurs. Second place Harper came off the bench and beat Williams to his limit and made extra free throws. Booker and Dunn scored consecutive three-pointers, and Iguodaro completed a dunk on an air cut. The Suns went 11-2 and led to 11 points. Castle accelerated and took off with a flying dunk on the frame with both hands to score 2+1. Wenbanyama sent a wonderful pass without looking at anyone under the basket. Johnson easily scored with a big backhand layup. At the end of the first quarter, the Spurs chased to 7 points 24-31.

Back in the second quarter, Allen passed the defense and wanted a layup. Wenbanyama made up the defense and directly slapped the block away. Booker received the sideline ball and made a decisive three-pointer from the top of the arc. Currently, he has scored 10 points and 6 assists on 2 of 2 three-pointers. Booker broke through and attracted double teams and lobbed into the penalty area. Richards caught the ball under the basket and completed a one-arm dunk. Allen and Goodwin made consecutive three-pointers. Currently, the Suns are 10 of 14 three-pointers and have opened the point difference to 17 points, defeating the Spurs. Wenbanyama blocked Williams with his left hand under the basket, and then scored the first point of the game. Booker knocked down Wenbanyama from behind and was called for a foul. Castle angrily yelled at Goodwin and was called for a technical foul. At halftime, the Suns led the Spurs by 18 points 70-52.

Halftime statistics, for the Spurs, Bunyama was in a sluggish state. He played 18 minutes and scored 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks on 1 of 5 shots. Harper played 11 minutes as a substitute, made 5 of 8 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 12 points and 1 rebound.

For the Suns, Booker played 18 minutes, scoring 4 of 8 shots, 2 of 2 three-pointers, and scoring 14 points, 1 rebound, 9 assists and 1 steal.

It is worth mentioning that the Suns made 11 of 15 three-pointers in the first half, with a shooting percentage of 73.3%. The Spurs' defense was useless.

Breaking news at midfield, the Spurs officially announced that No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper had left the game early due to a strained left calf!

Change sides and fight again. Wenbanyama hit Booker's neck with his elbow when catching the ball in the low post. He was called for an offensive foul. Then he caught the ball and made a breakthrough and dropped the ball out of bounds. Currently, he only scored 2 points on 1-for-6, but made 4 turnovers. After O'Neal made a steady three-pointer from the corner, Gillespie hit another three-pointer. The Suns made 14 of 20 three-pointers and widened the point difference to 31 points.

In the fourth quarter of the decisive battle, Wenban Yama finally scored a misplaced layup under the basket. Currently, he only scored 4 points on 2 of 10 shots, but made 6 turnovers. Allen was still able to make a three-pointer from a long distance. The Suns made 18 of 29 three-pointers. The point difference continued to remain at 25+. There was no suspense in the game. In the end, the Spurs lost to the Suns and their five-game winning streak was ended.

Full game statistics, for the Spurs, Wenbanyama scored 9 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks on 4-of-14 slump, and had 6 turnovers; Castle scored 26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

For the Suns, Booker scored 28 points, 2 rebounds, 13 assists and 1 steal on 10 of 15 three-pointers; Allen made 5 of 9 three-pointers and contributed 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

In this battle, I completely recognized these three stars. First, second place Harper's style of play is really young and mature, playing steadily, and has already shown the most basic star potential. I hope the injury is not serious; second, although Wenbanyama's performance is sluggish in this game, he is still the Spurs' basic base, and his inside deterrence is the team's defense. The defensive barrier, the so-called "defense wins" is indeed true. The second-year class has begun to move towards superstars; thirdly, Booker is still the same Booker. As long as he opens up, the team will play smoothly. He sent out as many as 13 assists in this game, revitalizing the whole team.