Heading into their most recent game, there were two Western Conference teams that the San Antonio Spurs had yet to beat this season. One is the Los Angeles Clippers, with whom Devin Vassell and company have yet to play. The other was the Phoenix Suns.
“We’re 0-2 against them, so we owe them a favor,” Vassell said before their meeting in Austin, Texas.
The Spurs entered the post-All-Star portion of the NBA year with the second-best record in the West. They are actually closer to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who started the season 24-1, than they are to the team behind them in the standings. And while San Antonio has defeated the defending champions four times in 2025-2026, they have yet to beat a Phoenix team that is also in the playoff picture.
“To be honest, I’m excited for this match,” Vassell said ahead of their latest meeting.
“…They’re still a very good team. We’re 0-2 against them. So we owe it to them. Excited for this game, to be honest”⬇️
-Devin Vassell tonight vs. Suns vs. Dillon Brooks in Austin
Phoenix is the only West team #spurs Have played, but have not been able to beat this season#porvida #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/yeQ6k4OpCg
– Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) 19 February 2026
While the Spurs entered the match healthy, the Suns did not. Guard Dillon Brooks was out due to a league-imposed suspension. Adding insult to injury – or in this case the other way around – star guard Devin Booker exited the Spurs’ 121-94 win with hip soreness.
“We know the type of energy, defense and intensity [Dillon Brooks] “They’re still a really good team.”
Spurs want to beat Suns for the first time
San Antonio’s first loss this season actually came in Phoenix. At 5–0 for the first time in franchise history, the Spurs were already without De’Aaron Fox when they lost Dylan Harper to injury in the second quarter. The Suns took a seven-point lead after the first quarter and never really looked back, outscoring the visitors in the second and even third quarters before the fourth quarter, which largely consisted of substitute players, en route to a 130–118 result.
The Spurs lost again three nights later (at the Los Angeles Lakers), but they bounced back by winning three consecutive nights. This helped determine the standing of the Silver and Black’s season so far.
Just three weeks later on November 23, the Spurs found themselves in Arizona again. Still without Harper, who will return shortly after with a calf strain, head coach Mitch Johnson recalled Fox. But they were missing both Victor Vembanyama and Stephen Castle. Spurs’ two young stars had suffered injuries in consecutive games a week earlier. Led by Brooks’ 25 and Booker’s 24 points, the Suns won 111–102.
This led to their latest meeting. Although part of the Rodeo road trip, the games against the Suns and Sacramento Kings are a slight departure from the team’s annual tradition, as part of Spurs Sports & Entertainment made an agreement with the city of Austin and the University of Texas to play two home games in the state capital.
The win against Phoenix marked San Antonio’s seventh consecutive win, extending their longest actual winning streak of the season, the previous eight-game winning streak also included a defeat of the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup Finals.
The Clippers are the only Western team that the Spurs have not defeated. His first shot in LA will come on March 6.
#Spurs #Devin #Vassell #San #Antonio #owes #Suns
