Quick Hitters
Aldridge, Spurs hand Suns most one-sided loss ever
PHOENIX — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points in 28 minutes and the San Antonio Spurs routed Phoenix 129-81 on Wednesday night, matching the most onesided loss in Suns history.
That record was set in the Suns’ 124-76 home loss to Portland in their opener this season.
Patty Mills added 18 points and Danny Green 17 for the Spurs. Dejounte Murray scored 14 before leaving with a sprained ankle in the second quarter. Alex Len scored 14 for the Suns, who shot 34 percent from the field and were 3-of-32 on 3-pointers.
Phoenix was without leading scorer Devin Booker for the second game in a row due to a hip pointer. Center Tyson Chandler missed the game with a sore neck and Tyler Ulis left with back spasms in the first half.
The Spurs, in the opening game of their annual six-game “rodeo road trip,” never trailed against a Suns team that has lost four straight and nine of 10. Phoenix’s 38 losses are the most in the NBA.
San Antonio dominated from the opening tip and led 69-31 at the half. The 38-point margin was the largest halftime lead for the Spurs against a team in their history.
San Antonio scored the first 11 points of the game and was up 16-2 after Davis Bertans’ tipin. The Spurs led 28-9 after one, two points off Phoenix’s franchise low for a quarter. The Suns missed their first eight shots and were 4-for-24 shooting in the first quarter, 0-for-7 on 3s.
Phoenix never got any closer than 36 points in the second half and trailed by as many as 53 in the fourth quarter.
The Suns averted a 50-point loss with Danuel House’s dunk on a fastbreak lob pass with six seconds to play.
Jason Pisano’s National Signing Day was a big moment for the senior, but it was confirmation of what can now be called a trend for the Yuma Catholic football program.
The three-year starting linebacker signed with Northern Arizona on Wednesday, and he is now the fourth Shamrock to go to a Division I school on scholarship in the past four years.
“It’s really rare for any school to have any Division I players, regardless of who you are,” Yuma Catholic coach Aaron Cheatwood said. “To have the amount we have over this short period of time, it’s just proof that these schools continue to come back because they know we’re putting out a superior product, and our kids know what they’re doing and they’re succeeding at the next level.”
Matt Pistone signed with Boise State and Donovan Rooks with Montana in 2015, then Daniel Callender went to South Dakota State a year ago.
Pisano, who will join the Lumberjacks of the Big Sky Conference this summer, is thrilled to be part of that legacy.
“It means the world to me,” Pisano said. “It’s left me speechless. From freshman year, to see guys sign with D-I programs, I always knew I wanted to be that guy; I wanted to go play college football. The fact that