| 06 December 2009
It must be something with the astrological sign tonight - or maybe just the phase of the moon.
How else can you explain Amar'e Stoudemire hogging those rebounds big time and carving-out a new definition for the term "double-double" by snagging a near career high 21 rebounds with 18 points thrown in for good measure?!? Or was it the lunar glint that helped power Steve Nash to an eye-popping 32 points?!?
Maybe it wasn't something in the sky - but something in our own stars on the court - but we do know that if it weren't for STAT and Steve putting on their All-Star exhibitions the Suns could easily have lost to a hungry Sacramento team that had won four straight until they came into the US Airways Center. And we sure are happy that Phoenix proved to be the end of the road for the Kings winning streak as the Suns over powered them by a 115 - 107 margin.
The game began well enough with the Suns knocking down 35 points in the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings. But then our guys went pitifully cold for the next 24 minutes. That's right 12 minutes of flash were followed by 24 minutes of - well - Oh No!! And the Suns went into the fourth quarter trailing by a point (Kings 83 - Suns 82).
It looked like the hometown crowd was in for some disappointment early in the fourth and you could even hear the groans when Robin Lopez gave away an easy steal with about ten minutes left in the final quarter. So much for the big man having a learning curve. But then Coach Alvin Gentry put in the starters and they asserted themselves. Amar'e - who had 17 rebounds at the end of the 3rd quarter - kept muscling the boards and knocking down shots from close range, Channing Frye's 3-point shot kept falling right and Nash showed that offensive brains can still win over brawn.
The upshot is that the Suns are now tied for the most wins in the Western Conference and on Sunday evening they will be in LA to take on the Lakers. For those not keeping track - that's the same team we've deadlocked Ws with and they will have had a full night's rest since edging past Miami on a last second Kobe Bryant score on Friday.
Sure attacking the Lakers will be tough - nothing easy there. But Saturday's strong showing from the veterans should restore at least some confidence in Suns fandom and we're looking forward to a little challenge. After all - whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Right?!?
See ya'.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
