Best for Last: Suns Beat Knicks in Fourth Quarter Flurry (115-104)

by TexSUN on Dec 2, 2007 8:05 PM MST in Game Coverage

Well, it wasn't the 48 minutes of blowout predicted by Turumbar in his pre pre-game thread diary, but the end result is still a double-digit mark in the win column for the Suns. The game started out looking like vintage Suns basketball with lots of crisp passing, and the guys looked like they were just having fun playing together en route to an early lead. Then, the dreaded "relax and let them back in" bug hit, and stayed there for most of the second and third quarters. The game slowed down, and the intensity level seemed on par with the average All-Star game at times. The Knicks even took the lead briefly in the third, and trailed by only one entering the fourth. But the Suns saved their best on both ends of the floor for the fourth quarter, holding the Knicks to 20 while scoring 30 themselves. Grant Hill led the charge with nine straight points in a run that broke open the game and put the Knicks at arms length, where they stayed for the rest of the game. In the end, the Suns ended up with what they had the last time they faced the Knicks--an 11-point victory.

Player of the Game: It's hard to turn down Amare Stoudemire's 28 point, 12-rebound night with his 12-of-17 shooting. But I have to go with Grant Hill. He shot even better (13-of-17), and was within shouting distance of a triple-double with eight rebounds and seven assists to go with his 28 points. Most importantly, he made the biggest impact during that stretch of the fourth quarter that opened up the game for good. Probably his best game in a Suns uniform to date.

Runner-Up: Eddy Curry had the best line for the Knicks, however, I'm going to put Amare here. He took full advantage of the Knicks' inability (including Curry's) to guard him when he rolled to the basket again and again for dunks and layups.

Grading the Game: "A" for the first few minutes (which were really fun to watch and made me wish I could be there), "C" for the middle two quarters, and back to "A" again for that stretch in the fourth. I'll split the difference and call it a "B", with an extra kudo to Mike D'Antoni for a nice distribution of minutes (nine guys in, and nobody more than 38).

Boxscore NBA.com Recap Arizona Republic

Poll

Your turn to grade the game

F - Flush it.

1 votes

A - Awesome!

2 votes

B - Better than average

10 votes

C - Could be better

6 votes

D - D'oh!

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Comments

Not a bad game

I miss Nash's shot, but everybody else was so good. A balanced attack is what works best for the Suns. Great Grant Hill.

I'll keep my game copy around for another day or two in case anybody has any clip requests. Amare did have a few nice slams.

by SueB on Dec 2, 2007 8:56 PM MST 0 recs

Amare and Curry

had very similar games.
Excellent on the ofense but lousy on the defense. Amare at least rebouded better. Also didn't understand why Curry played so few minutes.

by Bruno on Dec 2, 2007 9:08 PM MST 0 recs

thanks texsun

I missed game but it was nice reading your live comments

http://wisinsider.blogspot.com/

Interesting read, stats on Lebron are amazing!
If you saw the way he was shooting in the olympic qualifier, you'd know he's playing at a much higher level than when he played in the finals.
Interesting at least, sad comment on Amare...(in article)

by jasonsuns1 on Dec 2, 2007 9:47 PM MST 0 recs

Stephon Marbury

Just saw on NBA.com that Stephon's father died during the game :(

http://www.nba.com/nba_news/marbury_loss_071202.html

by whatisboxhappening on Dec 2, 2007 11:21 PM MST 0 recs

Skinner

Its hard to pick BS over Hill and Amare - but he made a HUGE difference on D and basically single handedly shut down the Knicks during the push to take the lead. His +/- confirmed this at +11 with 2 blocks in 18 minutes.

The Knicks actually looked decent for awhile by pounding the ball low and passing out of the Suns double team. Once Skinner came in and the Suns didn't have to double then the Knicks when cold.

Now - here's another thought I had during the game on the subject of letting up. When the coach puts Pike in the game for 5 minutes during the 2nd quarter I wonder what message that sends the team regarding how seriously they are taken the opponent...Its as if Coach D is purposely keeping the game close for "practice" purposes.

by Phoenix Stan on Dec 3, 2007 6:55 AM MST 0 recs

Good point!

Good point about Skinner. I should probably have given him some props in my recap, but I was lucky to get it posted at all. (My internet connection resembled an old dial-up 2400bps connection at times last night). But you're right, he was nearly as big a difference-maker on the defensive end in the 4th as Hill was on offense.

Interesting theory on the "practice purposes". I'm thinking Pike played because of the loaded schedule this week, but who knows. Still not sure why Pike is a better option than DJ, unless it's just a matter of giving props to the veteran and making the rookie earn his dues.

by TexSUN on Dec 3, 2007 11:54 AM MST up 0 recs

Pike's in the Rotation

He's in for a few minutes every game unless he's hurt. If he hits his shots, he's going to get more time. If he doesn't, it is a few minutes of rest for the other 8 in the rotation. Marks, Banks and DJ are stuck at the end of the bench. The only difference between DJ and the other two is that if DJ is sent to the D-League it's to make him better, not send him out to pasture.

Mmmmm ... Guinness

by JSun on Dec 3, 2007 4:01 PM MST up 0 recs

Interesting excerpt

...from Paul Coro's latest:

Stoudemire twice had words with teammates during Sunday's third quarter. First, he argued on the court with Raja Bell about a play on which Stoudemire held the ball too long and had it stolen by Knicks forward Quentin Richardson.

Three minutes later, Stoudemire came out after a loose ball foul and snapped at Suns guard Marcus Banks on the bench to the point that guard Steve Nash left his resting spot on the baseline floor to sit between Banks and Stoudemire, his newly appointed co-captain.

"We've got to get through that," Nash said. "All teams have it. The best teams do it the least and get it over it the quickest. It's an emotional sport."

Stoudemire declined to comment on the quarrels.

The team certainly didn't look like it was bickering earlier in the game, but I do remember the broadcasters mentioning the brief spat between Amare and Raja in the third quarter when the Knicks were making their run.

by TexSUN on Dec 3, 2007 7:59 AM MST 0 recs

Selfish Amare

Amare held the ball forever trying to figure out how to outscore Hill. Who can blame Raja for jumping on him instead of passing the ball. The Suns depend on ball movement, not on Amare hogging the ball.

by OneSunsFan on Dec 3, 2007 10:11 AM MST 0 recs

But that was a wierd play

I thought it was more of a case that Amare was trying to find a pass to make, but nobody was moving to the basket - almost like they were waiting for him to go to the hoop, so he finally did but got stripped.

It was a very un-Suns-like play and certainly not a good one, but I don't think Amare was the only one to blame.

Wonder what the heck Marcus was saying to him. If I'm Amare and Banks is tellng me what to do while nailed to the bench, I might be unhappy too.

by SueB on Dec 3, 2007 10:27 AM MST up 0 recs

Traveling

Actually, they should have called a travel on that play long before Amare lost the ball. The replay pretty clearly showed him dragging his pivot foot. I'm wondering if it was "weird" because he expected to be called for traveling, and then when it didn't happen, he was caught off-guard and had to figure out what to do next?

by TexSUN on Dec 3, 2007 11:31 AM MST up 0 recs

on amare..

Obviously there could be multiple points to what happened, but, look at this one part of it (beisdes the fact that the suns might not have been cutting to the hoop, a thing which occurs with Nash (having players cut) while Nash is moving also (not standing still like Amare was)),

Amare got the ball stolen from him, whats a normal reaction for this, yell at others (for selfish people = AMARE), or get mad at yourself and apologize to your team for your mistake (that's not Amare). Amare reminds me of a guy I know who has such a big ego, I've never heard him say sorry, or that he was wrong ever!!

by jasonsuns1 on Dec 3, 2007 11:16 AM MST 0 recs