Every team thinks they can run with the Suns. Very few can. Golden State is one of those teams that thinks because they have Don Nelson as coach and because they've got a lot of small guys, they can run with the Suns. And they always seem to do well for the first quarter or two. But then the better conditioning, the continuing "run-and-gun" mindset and the superior athleticism come out and the Suns start blowing the other team away. That's exactly how it happened for Golden State last night.
Golden State actually had a lead at the beginning of the first quarter (that's the Suns leading them right into the trap). By the 2nd quarter, the Suns had a 8 point lead. Yet the Warriors still tried to go small and outrun the Suns in the third. So the third ended with a 17 point deficit for the Warriors. And once the 4th quarter comes around and a team has that much of a deficit, they have to run to try and come back. So they play right into the Suns' hands again and, like the Warriors, end up losing by 23 points.
Of course, it didn't help the Warriors that Baron Davis had hurt both wrists and shot less than 50 percent. Or that James Jones found his shooting touch, shot 9-15 and had 25 points in 26 minutes. Or that Shawn Marion had 24 points and 17 rebounds. Or that Steve Nash had 10 assists - as many as the entire Warriors team (Diaw had 8 assists and Barbosa added another 5).
Amare Stoudemire had a sub-par game but the rest of the Suns picked it up against a sub-par team. Even brother site Golden State of Mind agrees.
There really isn't too much else to say. The Suns play 13-23 Seattle on Tuesday. More about that game later.