KELDON JOHNSON stole the ball from Kevin Durant and scored on a breakaway dunk with 1.2 seconds to play as the visiting San Antonio Spurs scored the final six points of the game to beat the Phoenix Suns 115-114 Tuesday in the first of a two-game set between the teams over a three-day period.

The teams will also play Thursday in Phoenix.

The Suns led by 18 points at halftime and by 13 heading into the fourth quarter.

San Antonio did not relent, with a jumper by rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama cutting its deficit to 114-111 with 49 seconds left.

Mr. Wembanyama then crashed the boards for an offensive rebound and a putback dunk with 6.1 seconds remaining.

The Suns inbounded the ball in the corner to Mr. Durant, who was double-teamed before Johnson stole the ball and drove to the rim for the deciding dunk.

Mr. Durant then missed a 10-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer that would have won the game for the Suns. Mr. Johnson led the Spurs with 27 points while Mr. Wembanyama and Devin Vassell added 18 each. Zach Collins scored 14 points and Tre Jones had 10 as San Antonio won for the first time on the road.

Mr. Durant’s 26 points paced the Suns. Eric Gordon scored 20, and Grayson Allen added 19 points. Jusuf Nurkic finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Josh Okogie and Yuta Watanabe scored 11 points each.

Mr. Durant’s late dunk pushed him over the 27,000-point mark for his career.

The Suns played without star guard Devin Booker (ankle) for the third straight game and newly acquired forward Bradley Beal, who has been dealing with lower back pain and has not played this season.

Phoenix forged a 22-12 lead at the 3:16 mark of the first quarter after a putback layup by Watanabe and enjoyed a 27-18 advantage at the end of the period.

The Suns expanded their lead to as many as 19 points in the second quarter when Mr. Gordon hit a floater with 7:10 to play before halftime and carried a 63-45 edge into the break.

Mr. Allen led all scorers with 16 points before halftime while Mr. Durant and Mr. Gordon added 14 points each in the half. Mr. Johnson’s nine points led the Spurs’ output in the first half.

Clippers 118, Magic 102

Paul George overcame a poor start to record 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and help the Los Angeles Clippers post a 118-102 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic Tuesday night.

Russell Westbrook contributed 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals and Bones Hyland and Norman Powell added 17 points apiece for Los Angeles. Kawhi Leonard scored just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.

Knicks 109, Cavs 91

Julius Randle posted a double-double Tuesday night for the visiting New York Knicks, who pulled away in the second half to defeat the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 109-91 in the opener of a home-and-home set.

Mr. Randle had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who outscored the Cavaliers 51-39 in the second half. The two teams are slated to play again Wednesday night in New York. — Field Level Media

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR