Suns win game 5 to take a 3-2 lead. It was a very interesting game from start to finish. The Suns didn't look too good in the first half. It looked like an extension of game 4 except for the fact that they were rebounding a little better. Otherwise, they might have been trailing by 15 just like game 4. Offensively they looked the same. It was the Steve Nash show again and nothing else. They couldn't get Stoudemire involved and the outside shooters were not doing much. They went into half time trailing 55-48. Not only were they trailing, they just scored 48. Amare was rebounding better, but had 3 fouls. The third quarter was not too different. Amare got going a little bit and Nash was awesome as always. They took the lead, but couldn't hold it up as Stackhouse was killing them. Suns ended the 3-rd quarter badly and turned a 5 pt lead into a 1 pt deficit.
Then came the fourth quarter! Nash was on the bench resting, and everybody was expecting Dallas to build on their lead. But what happened was exactly the opposite. The Suns put the ball in Jim Jackson's hand and he scored almost every possession and the Suns got stops at the other end. It looked like finally the Suns coaching staff decided to use Jim Jackson very similar to Joe Johnson. Joe Johnson is the go-to-guy when Nash sits and in this game it was Jim Jackson. They let him drive the lane, they ran pick and rolls for him and he finished in the paint every time. It was amazing to see a new guy dominate for the Suns and it deflated the Mavs completely. They now looked lost and confused. There was a perceptible momentum shift in the early part of the 4-th quarter and you could feel the Suns winning this game. If you were a Suns fan, you just hoped this momentum would carry over to game 6. Suns built a lead and the Mavs kept it close, but once Nash got back in, the game was over. It was a great win and a great game for Nash, Jim J and Amare. Amare picked it up in the second half and ended up with monster numbers. The Suns fast-break worked real well in the second half as well.
Overall, a happy ending for the Suns. Nash had a triple double and scored 34 points and proved once again why he was the league MVP. To quote Dan Bickley from the Arizona Republic, no one in the NBA shoots so well yet is content to shoot so little. The only other guy I am reminded of is John Stockton. He could have scored a LOT more if he wanted to. So Avery's idea of letting Nash shoot and cut off everybody else both on the inside and outside did not work this time. Not sure if it worked in game 4 either. So I am very curious to see what he does in game 6. Now all eyes are focused on game 6. We know the Mavs are going to come out like gang-busters. It's going to be very similar to game 4. Now, whether the result is going to be the same are different is going to depend on how the Suns come out and play. If they bring the energy and a sense of urgency, they can wrap this thing up. Hopefully they don't want to play a game 7. A twisted ankle here or a foul trouble there can kill your season when you get into those game 7s.
The Spurs and the Pistons wrapped up their series yesterday, and this worries me a little bit. I am concerned the zebras will "manufacture" a game 7 out of this series. Remember the Lakers-Kings game 6 from a few years back? Kings were in control of the series and they got screwed at LA in game 6. Game 7 was fairly officiated, but the Kings lost the game anyways at home. It was the hottest rivalry in the NBA and the league knew a game 7 would be great for TV ratings. The circumstances are a little different here. The Suns-Mavs are not a great rivalry, at least not yet. Also the league probably secretly wishes the Suns advance as opposed to that series where they didn't mind the Lakers winning. Suns' style of play would put more fans in front of the TV, though the Mavs aren't bad themselves. So hopefully the game is called fairly and the players decide the outcome.
DALLAS (108) AT PHOENIX (114)
DALLAS
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
J HOWARD F 36 8-13 1-2 2 8 10 4 2 1 3 19
D NOWITZKI F 41 11-22 11-14 2 8 10 1 4 3 2 34
E DAMPIER C 36 0-7 2-4 8 6 14 1 4 2 0 2
J TERRY G 42 8-17 0-0 0 1 1 8 4 0 2 17
M FINLEY G 35 3-11 0-0 0 1 1 2 4 2 1 7
J STACKHOUSE 36 11-21 4-4 1 5 6 2 1 1 0 29
D ARMSTRONG 6 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
M DANIELS 8 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
A HENDERSON DNP - COACH'S DECISION
S BRADLEY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
K VAN HORN DNP - SPRAINED LEFT ANKLE
D HARRIS DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 41-94 18-24 13 29 42 19 21 9 8 108
(.436) (.750) TEAM REBS: 8 TOTAL TO: 8 (2 PTS)
PHOENIX
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Q RICHARDSON F 33 3-11 1-2 5 0 5 3 5 1 0 7
S MARION F 48 7-18 1-2 5 5 10 2 4 1 2 16
A STOUDEMIRE C 44 10-17 13-15 5 13 18 1 3 0 3 33
S NASH G 42 13-26 6-6 0 13 13 12 0 1 5 34
J JACKSON G 45 9-14 1-1 2 3 5 0 5 0 1 21
L BARBOSA 13 1-5 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 2
S HUNTER 7 0-3 1-2 2 0 2 0 0 1 1 1
W MCCARTY 8 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
B OUTLAW DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J VOSKUHL DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J JOHNSON DNP - FRACTURED ORBITAL BONE
P SHIRLEY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 43-96 23-28 20 36 56 19 18 5 13 114
(.448) (.821) TEAM REBS: 11 TOTAL TO: 13 (15 PTS)
DALLAS 29 26 22 31 - 108
PHOENIX 25 23 28 38 - 114
BLOCKED SHOTS: DALLAS - E DAMPIER 3, J TERRY 2, J STACKHOUSE, D NOWITZKI.
PHOENIX - A STOUDEMIRE 3, S MARION 2.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: DALLAS 8-22 (.364), J HOWARD 2-3, D NOWITZKI 1-
3, J TERRY 1-4, M FINLEY 1-3, J STACKHOUSE 3-6, D ARMSTRONG 0-3. PHOENIX 5-
19 (.263), Q RICHARDSON 0-4, S MARION 1-3, S NASH 2-5, J JACKSON 2-
4, L BARBOSA 0-3.
TECHNICAL FOULS: DALLAS - J HOWARD.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: MIKE CALLAHAN, STEVE JAVIE, TOM WASHINGTON.
A - 18,422. T - 2:32.
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