The injury-ravaged San Antonio Spurs got more depleted after rookie Derrick White suffered a fractured right wrist while playing for their G-League affiliate. In a statement, the Spurs confirmed White’s injury, which he sustained during the Austin Spurs’ game against the Texas Legends Saturday. However, the Spurs did not give a timeline for his return. The severity of the injury could sideline White for months, ruining his rookie year. The Spurs took the 6-foot-5 White 29th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft out of Colorado, where he averaged 18.3 points in his lone season.
This season, White played four games for the Spurs, averaging five minutes of action. The Spurs were already playing without Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Joffrey Lauvergne.
Spurs assign Parker to G-League for 2nd time
On Monday, the team assigned Parker to the Austin Spurs, who will hold practice at the squad’s practice facility. The assignment is part of Parker’s rehabilitation from left quadriceps tendon surgery. This was the second time that Parker has been assigned to the Austin Spurs. The Spurs have yet to announce the date of Parker’s return, but the fact that the veteran point guard is able to practice, is a good sign that he might return soon. Parker suffered the injury during the Western Conference Semifinal against the Houston Rockets.
Spurs eclipse Suns
Despite missing some of their key players, the Spurs improved to 6-4 following a 112-95 win over the Phoenix Suns. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and had nine boards, Patty Mills had 17 points, four rebounds and four assists, while four Spurs reserves scored in double digits as the Spurs won their second straight game after a four-game losing skid.
Dejounte Murray chipped in 13 points, Rudy Gay and Bryn Forbes contributed 12 points each, and Brandon Paul had 11 as the Spurs got double-digit scoring from four of their reserves for the second straight game. In their win over the Charlotte Hornets, Forbes scored 22, Gay had 20, and Murray and Manu Ginobili each had 10 off the bench.
TJ Warren scored 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting, rookie Josh Jackson and Alex Len scored 12 points each off the bench and Mike James added 10 for the Suns, who dropped to 4-6. Devin Booker, the Suns’ leading scorer this season, was limited to nine points on 3-of-11 shooting, far from average of 22 points per outing. Before the game, the Spurs had a moment of silence for the victims of Sunday morning’s mass shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people died and 20 wounded.