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How about that home cooking!
That Suns are now 9-0 on the season and have won their last 18(!) home games going back to March 12, 2009. That's pretty impressive right there and you can't exactly call wins over the Spurs and Magic cupcake walks. Or brownie strolls. Or pie wanderings. Or whatever. They were good wins and Coach Gentry said as much, "That was a good win."
Amare had another thought on the matter, "Definitely a big win for us." And Dragic added, "It's great."
So, I think we can call that a consensus. Good win. Big win. Great.
End of story.
Sure, the Suns turned a 20 point lead into a 5 point lead during an 8 minute stretch of the third quarter but hey, that's going to happen. Right, Steve?
"You know, I think this is the type of team we are. We're going to go on big runs and we're going to let teams back in the game sometimes with the way we play but I think that's how we win games. The alternative is going to be a 35 or 40 win team. If we play this way we have to live with the ebb and flow and we got a chance to win 50," explained the Suns leader, two-time MVP and 25 point, 13 assist magician.
Coach Gentry agreed, "I didn't think it was going to be a 25-point win against those guys, that just doesn't happen."
HEY! LOOK OVER THERE!! DID YOU SEE THAT AWESOME AMARE DUNK AND THAT GREAT NASH PASS!!!!
Amare was incredible tonight. Early in the game his jump shot was straight money giving him 18 first half points on 8/11 shooting. He wasn't getting to the line obviously - since he was taking wide open jump shots - but he made his presence felt in the paint with 8 early boards.
Stat Sun Tzu Gorilla Gamer MAX CONTRACT finished with a monster night matching Duncan with 14 total rebounds and tearing down the rim with a couple of massive jams with take-off points somewhere near Gilbert.
"You guys probably got a better view than I did. I was focused on the rim. I was just trying to make it," said Max about one of his more impressive retro-jams.
The star of this game - Not named Nash or Max - was Slovenian Frosty Dragic who was pretty pleased with all the media attention he received in the locker room. Actually, that's not fair. He was pleased with career high 18 points and his great defense. Nope. That's not fair either. He's just pretty much always pleased. He's kind of Barbosa-like that way. Just a happy guy who struggles to grow much in the way of facial hair but is maturing as a basketball player before our eyes.
Needless to say, Goran gave credit where credit is due, "For a few games I've played with Steve Nash, so it's a little bit different for me, but Steve is a great player. He finds all the players all the time. It's much easier for me when I just catch the ball and shoot it."
Before you get all - Dragic is a Shooting Guard - let's not forget that he's a very good passer and has solid point guard potential. Of course, it is easier for him to play off the ball with Nash but that doesn't mean he can't play on the ball behind Nash.
Whatever ball he's playing on he took a big step forward tonight in the eyes of the league and national observers who were quick to write him off last season. And he knows it too, "Definitely, I think so."
Other Game Notes Taken During the Game:
- RJ aggressive early - Spurs trying to get him going (didn't work - he finished with 4 points)
- Suns start w/ decent ball movement and energy. Amare looks sharp on both ends
- Spurs staying home leaves Nash wide open lane of high pick and roll
- Suns killing it on the glass (11 to 4) helped by Spurs who are getting back to stop the transition break
- Lou Amundson's first job was mowing his neighbors lawns in the hot sun for $20 (fyi)
- Spurs bench better D than starters
- Manu hits well contested fade away runner...so Manu
- Suns bench (w.o Nash) moving the ball very well
- Clark!!!
- Spurs side pick and pop gets Bonner wide open as Amare shows on the screen and no one rotates over
- and Clark goes out after blowing a defensive assignment. RoLo in
- Nash getting more rest than normal in the 2nd qtr. Suns hanging on to 11 to 13 point lead
- Roger Mason Jr hitting three's to keep Spurs in the game
- Suns D on Parker not working. He blows by the hard show and turns the corner before Dragic and get to him
- Nash back in at 5:28 mark. Suns lead 46-36
- Frye now on Duncan. Suns have been playing him straight up. No double teams
- Lou came up lame favoring left leg (mild left ankle sprain)
- J-Rich didn't go back in game after playing 10 minutes w/ zero points in 1st (finished with 3 points in 22 minutes)
- Nash passes to Robin through Duncan's legs! Robin gets to the line
- Spurs start 3rd playing better D but Suns moving the ball getting open shots and pushing the pace and playing active D
- Suns time out at 6:34 in the 3rd after little run by Spurs behind a couple open looks from Duncan on the side pick and roll
- Out of time out Nash hits two shots and gets tempo rolling
- Whoa...classic Amare jam over Duncan
- Spurs hitting shots cut lead to 10
- Suns fans chanting "D-Fence" with no prompting
- Spurs up to 50% shooting
- Suns letting refs frustrate them. Lead down to 5 points
- Dragic with GREAT hustle play to dive on the floor and tap ball back to Nash
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George Hill refuses to get screened (His defense really is good. I love that kid)
- Frye making horrible passes (he was credited with 3 turnovers but really...not the smartest game from Frye)
- Dragic with the great help side D to get in front of Duncan rolling to the lane. Forced Duncan to pull up and miss shot
- Both teams playing HARD. Diving for balls. Suns getting the majority of the loose balls
- Suns crowd = great
- Amare with another monster JAM following an OReb. Suns up 100-93!
- Dragic hits HUGE 3! Suns up 103-93
- Added bonus. Spurs have to play tomorrow in Golden State. Your welcome Warriors fans!
- The Suns bigs show hard on the screen and roll every time. Spurs picking it apart. Suns might want to mix up the coverages
- Amare with the steal on Duncan. Dragic drives length of court for touch lay up over Bonner
- Coming out party for Dragic - getting national attention with this game
- Amare gambles on D with his reach in's
- Spurs missing shots late. Tired legs
- Suns missing a ton for FT's (a ton is a bit of an overstatement since they only took 13 and missed 6)
Game Audio:
Game Pictures from Max (Simbron not Contract):
and a bonus picture of John Hollinger inventing a new way to calculate the value of the off-handed dribble in the mid-court on odd Tuesday's
Game Links
- Spurs vs Suns coverage
- Spurs vs Suns boxscore
- Pounding The Rock