Suns Go Down in Flames

by Dan on Jan 29, 2007 8:39 PM MST in Suns News Comment 10 comments

All good things come to an end. What goes up must come down. All of those things. No excuses. The Timberwolves were the better team tonight. They played really, really well. The game plan for the Wolves worked. Kevin Garnett could not miss! No matter how well the Suns defended him, he kept making the shot. He ended up scoring 44 points for the game.

The entire Timberwolves team played really, really well tonight. They played amazing defense. It doesn't seem like it from the score (121-112) but the Wolves would swarm Steve Nash in the 4th quarter and he couldn't even pass the ball.

Nash had 20 points and 18 assists. Raja Bell had 26 points and 5-11 from three point land. Shawn Marion had 24 points and 10 rebounds.

The Suns played a good game. It was just a perfect storm tonight. They were tired and Kevin Garnett was unstoppable. The other Wolves players helped as well. Ricky Davis had 17 points and 8 assists. Trenton Hassell and Mark Blount added 10 each. But I think Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen helped push the Wolves over the edge with his 8 important rebounds and 6 important points. It may not look like a lot compared to Kevin Garnett's 44 but he tipped the ball in at the perfect time to either stop a Suns run or keep a Wolves run going.

So the streak is over. Don't feel bad. The Suns were bound to lose eventually. As the players and coaches have pointed out. It's not the streak or the teams they beat that matters. It's the fact that they win a championship. The Suns can start a new one when they play the Spurs on Thursday night. Now let's see if the Suns can go on a 19-game streak.

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Oh well

No big, we lose one game after a month of play. Ho humm. I'm only kinga sad about it because we need just about every win to ensure homecourt advantage over the Mavericks in the playoffs. From what i read the Wolves played some awesome ball and the Suns just coulded keep up. What's important now is learning from this loss (we havent had many loses to learn from) and kicking the Spurs ass on Thursday. WE MUST DESTR0Y THE SPURS!!!! Making a statement against them is tantamount to the evolution of our team as they move into the playoffs.

by Turambar on Jan 29, 2007 9:41 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

silver lining

I was sad to see the Suns' streak end but I'm proud of how they played in a losing effort. We've had some sloppy games where the Suns have shot in the high 30s for most of the game and just plain didn't play well. Against Minnesota, the Suns were in it from tip off to half way through the fourth quarter.

They fought hard and put themselves in a position to win it but the wolves just had more gas in the tank at the end. We didn't blow any huge leads (9 points isn't a huge lead) and we shot 50% overall. I think we can learn some things defensively from this game but really its extremely difficult to rack up win after win against NBA teams - especially on the road and especially the 5th game of a road trip on a back to back.

The streak was fun but now its back to business. We got San Antonio on Thursday and we need a quality win over the team with the NBA's third best record.

by UofAZGrad on Jan 30, 2007 8:44 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Well i'm glad they got that out of their system.

Now they can go stomp on SA and Utah.

by Mike on Jan 30, 2007 10:47 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Main Culprits

to add to the defeat were Boris and Amare. Amare played a robust 40 minutes and only managed to get 5 FG attempts. Yes, he was hacked a bunch but Minnie's bigs ran circles around him.

Boris on the other hand managed to play 33 minutes without a SINGLE rebound.

The Wolves played great though with better shooting, rebounding, and less turnovers.

Marcus Banks MUST GO!!!!

by AZSEAfan on Jan 30, 2007 10:48 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

It wasn't all Amare's fault

He was open several times and the guys with the ball couldn't see around their defender to get it to Amare. And when Amare was trying to get open, the Wolves were all over him. He only had 5 field goal attempts because he didn't get the ball that much to begin with.

And regarding Diaw's non-rebounds, I saw several times where he specifically made the point to box out Kevin Garnett and let one of the other Suns get the rebound even though he could have easily gotten it. I think the game plan was to not let Garnett get easy rebound and put-backs. Unfortunately, they focused so much on Garnett that the other guys got a lot of rebounds.

I don't think this loss was anyone's fault. The Suns were bound to lose eventually.

by Dan on Jan 30, 2007 4:42 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

re

I totally see what you're saying but I just think Amare kinda took the night off. We all know that from time to time, he mentally checks out. When he's his aggressive self he always seems to find a way to get his shots. Good point on Diaw though...doing the dirty work to let Marion get his boards.

Of course they were bound to lose eventually and the Wolves played an awesome game. I just wanted to point out what the Suns could've done differently.

by AZSEAfan on Jan 31, 2007 3:10 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I understand

I completely see what you're saying. If they would have done just a few things differently, they could still have their streak going. Good points!

by Dan on Jan 31, 2007 7:20 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Marcus Banks MUST GO!!!!

I agree, even though he hasn't had much playing time, he at least should be contributing to the team effort, which I have not seen since he was added to the roster....

by lalbert on Jan 31, 2007 6:30 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I jinxed this

They looked beyond Minnesota, to SA and Denver and other competition. I had said so (on #suns, on irc.efnet.com , if anybody's interested in an IRC channel where most folk idle too much...tell 'em DrStrom sent ya) before they played Cleveland ("MIN looks like a trap").

And this is fine by me.... it means we have a fresh start for an undefeated February ;)

flim springfield

by DrStrom on Jan 31, 2007 4:49 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Suns Go Down in Flames

So the Suns lost? When? Just kidding. I saw the game and I don't blame the Suns one bit. The Timberwolves were hitting on all cylinders, sort of like the Suns when they're on a shotting jag, but this only humbles the Suns to where they don't start thinking they are unbeatable because there are other teams out there who would love to have the chance to say that they beat the Suns, right now the T-wolves have that honor, but I still say, "Go Suns!!!"

by lalbert on Jan 31, 2007 6:25 AM MST reply actions 0 recs