Suns' Beal: We 'got our ass kicked' in loss to Wemby-less Spurs
Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal isn't happy with his team's performance in Monday's 104-102 loss to the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs.
"It's (a) disappointment," Beal said, according to ESPN's Andrew Lopez. "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 comes after the Suns dismantled the Spurs 131-106 in San Antonio on Saturday. Monday's defeat, which Wembanyama missed due to an ankle sprain, dropped Phoenix to 42-30, with three of its losses coming against the 16-56 Spurs.
"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 ... the first half."
Only Devin Booker (36 points), Kevin Durant (29), and Royce O'Neale (12) scored in double digits for Phoenix. Beal recorded nine points before exiting due to a sprained finger, while Jusuf Nurkic left the loss with a sprained ankle.
The Suns have the NBA's toughest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon. They're set to face the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans twice in their final 10 games, as well as the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder once.
It's the toughest final 10-game stretch since the 2015-16 Memphis Grizzlies had two contests each against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors and 67-15 Spurs, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Suns take on the defending champion Nuggets on Wednesday.