| 08 April 2010
As we all patiently wait for the western conference playoff race to sort itself out, last night Phoenix managed to pass the first hurdle to winning their last five games. Against a San Antonio team playing the second half of a back to back, the Suns kept the game close until a couple minutes before half time. Finishing the half off with an 11-2 run, they went into the locker rooms up 61-52, and the game was never any closer than five points after that as the Suns cruised to a 112-101 victory.
San Antonio played exactly the way a Suns fan would have wanted them to play.
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San Antonio was flat, missed a lot of shots, turned the ball over carelessly, and out rebounded Phoenix on the offensive boards like they were playing with six men on the floor.
Okay, maybe a Suns fan wouldn't want to see the Spurs get so many second chance points. I know this fan was upset by it. In an otherwise solid game, the Spurs out rebounded our Suns 20-12 on the offensive end. So many second and third chance opportunities would normally cost the Suns the game and make me ponder the merits of gouging out my own eyes, but luckily nothing else was going right for the tired old Spurs.
In an arguably questionable move by Gentry, Nash and J-Rich sat out the entire fourth quarter. This isn't the first time he's done this when the back up squad has played well. As long as the bench keeps the game in check, he's more than happy to let them win the game and rest the starters. A brilliant move as far as I am concerned. All season long we've seen the chemistry and confidence grow on the second team and it has been infectious.
Dragic quarterbacked the last thirteen minutes of the game and no one was smiling more on the sidelines than Steve Nash. Nash is a team player and a class act. I don't think I've ever heard or read anyone say a bad word about him. In the fourth quarter, about four minutes to go, just San Antonio was seeking to make their final push Dragic came up with two steals in less than thirty seconds. The first resulting in a layup and the second in an assist to Grant Hill.
The Spurs crumbled after that. Game over.
Thus completing the first goal of winning out the last five games in an effort to take the second or third seed. At the moment we are still tied with Dallas and Denver with a record of 51-27. The Jazz lost last night to the rockets putting them a game back in the loss column. Arguably, they belong two games back since they should have lost to Oklahoma the night before. Fortunately, the NBA apologized for the refs mistake. Seeing as a person gets fined for criticizing the refs, when the refs are worthy of valid criticism, who fines the NBA?
But I digress...
Where was I? Oh yeah, Oklahoma. They played Denver last night and just couldn't hold on at the end. Tied at 94 with about minute and half to go the final score ended up 98-94. So two nights in a row the Thunder missed out on helping the Suns cause. Such is life.
The Suns fate is still in their own hands. Just the way I like it. Of course, I wouldn't complain about a little help.
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