5 takeaways on Suns' close win over Spurs after having franchise-record 18-game win streak snapped

The Suns were far from flawless Monday night.

They trailed by double figures in the first half, shot 10-of-29 from 3 for the game, and blew a 16-point second-half lead, but still ended San Antonio's four-game win streak, 108-104 at Footprint Center.

The Suns needed to dig into their clutch bag to pull this one out, though.

Down 11, San Antonio went on a 16-5 run to tie the game at 88-88 with 6:09 remaining. After a timeout, Phoenix closed the game on a 20-16 run in bouncing back from having their franchise-record 18-game win streak snapped Friday at Golden State.

Chris Paul finished with a game-high 21 points while Jae Crowder added season-high 19 as six Suns reached double figures.

NBA: SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS | STATISTICS

Along with the scoring, Crowder and Paul each forced key turnovers on Dejounte Murray late in the fourth quarter.

Then Paul hit the biggest shot of the night that led to a 3-point play to give Phoenix an 108-102 lead with 17.1 seconds left.

Here are five takeaways from Monday's win as the Suns (20-4) have won their two games over San Antonio (8-14) by four points each.

1. With Devin Booker missing his third straight game with a left hamstring strain, Phoenix relied heavily on Paul to close out the Spurs.

Too heavily.

The Suns had a chance to blow the game wide open when up 16 points in third, but the Spurs reduced that to nine going into the fourth.

That wasn't a good sign.

The Suns shouldn't have needed Paul to score 10 points in the fourth to win, but he once again closed the game for Phoenix against a team that seems to matchup well with them despite having a losing record.

2. The Spurs need a star in the worst way.

Murray is a really good player, but the rest of their guys are role players who have to play very well in order for them to have a chance.

Take Derrick White for example.

He scored 25 in San Antonio's upset win Saturday at Golden State a day after the Phoenix lost in the same building.

Monday night?

White scored 12 on 4-of-12 shooting, going 1-of-8 from 3.

3. Paul and Crowder did more than just score in Booker's absence.

They each made a huge defensive play late in the fourth quarter.

Suns up one with 3:47 left: Crowder forced Murray into a kickball turnover.

Ensuing possession: Deandre Ayton jump hook gives Phoenix 98-95 lead.

Suns up three with 1:25 left: Paul blocks Murray transition drive as ball deflected off Murray's arm out of bounds.

Ensuing possession: Cam Johnson 3 gives Phoenix 103-97 lead as San Antonio calls timeout with 1:10 left.

Two huge defensive plays by veterans.

4. Suns coach Monty Williams said he got on Cam Johnson to shoot the ball.

Johnson echoed that comment, saying it occurred before hitting that huge 3.

Here's the deal.

With Johnson, a guy who has probably the best shooting stroke on the team, it doesn't matter if he shoots 5-of-14 from the field and misses five of his seven 3-point attempts.

Williams, and everyone else, believes the next one is going down.

Plus Johnson isn't just a shooter.

An improved defender, Johnson had two steals and a block.

A growing creator, Johnson had three assists with one to JaVale McGee off the dribble for the dunk.

Another assist was one Williams couldn't foresee the outcome when Johnson went baseline with the shot clock expiring.

Somehow Johnson's bounce pass to Ayton got by White, who was standing right there, and the Suns big finished to give Phoenix a 105-100 lead with 45.7 seconds left.

Luck or not, Johnson showing he does more than shoot.

5. Mikal Bridges just had a small tape job on that right pinky finger he dislocated in Friday's loss to the Warriors.

He looked fine. Only grabbed at the finger from time to time.

Got on the boards with nine, handled the ball OK, but only took six shots in scoring just six points.

Didn't take a 3.

He'll have a few days to get treatment on it as the Suns don't play again until Friday against Boston. If Booker is still out, curious to see if Bridges looks to score more.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways on Suns' close win over Spurs after having franchise-record 18-game win streak snapped