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

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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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