Down to the Wire Once More: Suns Nip Pacers 121-117

by TexSUN on Dec 4, 2007 10:02 PM MST in Phoenix Suns: Game Coverage

If the Suns hadn't pulled this one out, the blame could be laid squarely at the three-point line, where the Suns were 0-9 before Raja Bell finally made one late in the third quarter. Despite allowing the Pacers to score 117 points, this game would have been in blowout territory had the Suns shot just a little better from beyond the arc. As it stands, they finished up 3-of-16 back there for just under 19%. So, how ironic is it that a three-pointer played a heavy role in nudging this one toward the win column? While Amare Stoudemire sealed up Player of the Game with his 42 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists, Steve Nash is the one who nailed the three that put the Suns in front for good. And so the Suns got some more practice in handling close games as they came away with the "W" for the 14th time this year. By my count, the Suns are now 4-0 in games decided by five points or less. Good practice for the playoffs.

This was a fun game to watch, and it deserves a much more thorough recap than this. But it's late, I've been staring at computers for nearly 14 hours straight, and I have a very early day tomorrow. So I'm going to close this one out with some comments from the game thread:

From Turumbar:

"For a night when there seemed to be a lid on the rim from beyond they arc the Suns still pulled through. And holy crack was Amare on fire or what!?!?!?!?!? I wish I could have seen the game on TV, but he must have strode through the painted area like a titan. Hill was proving yet again why we picked him up. And Nash was being the MVP that he always is."

From TwinnerA:

"Hill, Nash, Skinner, Stat, Bell played great. Negatives were Diaw (no big surprise there) and Barbosa. Matrix missed a ton of layups but got 12 rebounds so I can live with that. Nash leaving the game in the 3rd quarter with 5 min. left and then having to come back in with 2 min. left just shouldn't happen. I just hope the long minutes tonight for some of the guys don't spell doom for the game against Toronto tomorrow night who won last night without 3 players. "

From Cornrows of Indy Cornrows (go here for a much more thorough take on this game from a Pacers fan's perspective):

"Killin' me!!!

Nash with the dagger.

Man, that was a fun game to watch. Does Amare make every 18 footer he takes.

Congrats on the W."

We'll do it again tomorrow.

Boxscore NBA.com Recap Arizona Republic

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Comments

thanks again for recaps folks...

Nice to read through, too much work going on for me to listen while the game was being played. Sounds awesome on Amare! Awesome, it's funny that he'd have a game like this after our bell/banks/amare thing. I think one of the things that is awesome but sometimes frustrating on Amare is... he has the potential to get 40+ points 10+ rebounds 3+ assists everynight, he's that good in potential and skill, and heart, and drive...so when we see him play like this, it's awesome, but it'd be easier to handle for me if these games came around more often. But, he is still developing...he sure saved us tonight!

See we got someone from the other team on our board, cool..I'll have to swing over there for a few if I get the chance, thanks for the link :-)

by jasonsuns1 on Dec 4, 2007 11:49 PM MST reply actions

Vindication

I feel vindicated about my last post. I'm going to disagree with the statement that "this game would have been in blowout territory had the Suns shot just a little better from beyond the arc." True -- or, their shooting being off, they could've fed Amare even more or concentrated on the mid-range jumper.

Of course, I really don't know what happened in the middle. I listed through the beginning of the second period on radio and caught up on TV with 6 minutes left in the game. 42 points in 36 minutes on 62% shooting is pretty good. I also noted that he had five fouls relatively early on but finished the game -- with help from Skinner. Loving Skinner! A faster, more athletic KT! Sometimes even a blind squirrel can find an acorn, eh Suns?

Mmmmm ... Guinness

by JSun on Dec 5, 2007 8:46 AM MST reply actions

Black Hole

While I'm thinking about, I was listening to Tim Kempton on the pre-game show and he opined that the offense running through Stoudemire was a good thing. He specifically said, "Stoudemires is not a black hole." Timmy!

Mmmmm ... Guinness

by JSun on Dec 5, 2007 8:54 AM MST up reply actions

More than one way to skin the cat?

Just because there were other ways besides three-pointers to get the game in blowout territory, doesn't mean they wouldn't have been there had they shot the three-ball better than 3-of-16. :) I was mainly talking about the 0-9 start from three--had that been more like 4-9 or even 3-9, it would have meant nine extra points of lead earlier in the game, making the lead look a lot more insurmountable for the Pacers. Besides, the Suns did adjust somewhat--16 three-point attempts isn't very many for this team. They average more than 20 per game. I thought they did a good job of feeding the hot hand (Amare) last night, while still firing a few from outside to keep the defense honest. Most of the three attempts were good shots, they just weren't going in for whatever reason.

by TexSUN on Dec 5, 2007 3:10 PM MST up reply actions

Love it

It's fun to see Amare playing to his potential while making strides on defense. It cracks me up though thinking about so many fans from other teams whose main criticism of Amare was that all he could do was dunk. I think of that everytime he puts down a hook or flushes an outside jumper.

by AZSEAfan @ Bright Side Of The Sun on Dec 5, 2007 2:47 PM MST reply actions

And let's give a little credit to

Amare for his D on that key late play. Amare takes a lot of well deserved flack for his positional defense on the pick and roll but on that play after Steve hit the 3 and the Pacer's came down and ran the screen w/ Dunleavy. Amare switched off and ended up iso against a good small forward who was hot.

But his foot work to stop the drive, not pick up a foul and contest the shot was incredible. I watched that play in slo-mo about 12 times. He was totally awesome. I would like to see Dwight Howard try and make that play way out from the basket.

by Seth Pollack on Dec 5, 2007 3:00 PM MST reply actions

Yes!

I had forgotten about that. Very true.

Why can't they do that the whole game, though. They can't "turn on" defense against teams like the Spurs. This is why I have Tim Duncan nightmares.

Mmmmm ... Guinness

by JSun on Dec 5, 2007 3:47 PM MST up reply actions

Just try and hold this

image in your head when you go to sleep:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ju_tLS2osjM

by Seth Pollack on Dec 5, 2007 3:58 PM MST up reply actions

I can only dream ...

No, the fact that he made it out relatively unscathed simply proves that he's more machine than man. He's like that damned liquid terminator that just keeps coming after you.

I did like, though, the Jones was still trying to help the Suns win the title.

Mmmmm ... Guinness

by JSun on Dec 6, 2007 2:52 PM MST up reply actions