The season has finally come to an inglorious end. Losing to the Spurs 4-1 at home is disappointing. I always thought we could predict who won a Suns game by just looking at the Suns score. That was true in this game. They just scored 95 points and they don't win when they score 95. The Spurs turned up their defense once again and Duncan came to play after a bad game. He was unbelievable. The rest of the team chipped in and they closed out the Suns. The Suns kept it close, but couldn't finish. Nash had a good game, but he couldn't finish some of those shots in the second half. It was one of those things were they just didn't go in. He got to the rim, but the ball bounced out. That was unfortunate for the Suns since some of those scores would have tightened things up for the Spurs. But the Spurs were just better and they won this one rather easily.
The real story for the Suns was probably Amare Stoudemire. Once again he was other-worldly. There was no stopping this guy. For him to consistently score over 30 and hit his shots at a 50% clip is amazing. It's not like he's doing this against some scrubs either. We are talking about Tim Duncan and the Spurs D. Nobody seem to be able to stop him. He is quicker or stronger or more athletic than the guy usually guarding him and in most cases, he is quicker AND stronger AND more athletic than anybody else on the court. His mid-range game has improved just during this season to the point where he started consistently hitting the jumpers in the playoffs. He never even attempted those shots in Nov or Dec. It got to a point where I felt very comfortable when he took those shots. The Suns are understandably excited about him and his future. There was a lot of talk about him after the game and both Pop and Duncan were very high on him. He seem to dominate the game without any go to moves or a polished low-post game. He is only 23 and it's scary how good he can be in a few years. In fact, he was so good this series, I am not even sure if he can get any better offensively ! Of course he has a long way to go defensively and in other subtleties of the game.
Anyways, the great Suns season is over. It hurts right now. But eventually, this might end up being the start of something great and not just the end of the 2004-2005 season.
SAN ANTONIO (101) AT PHOENIX (95)
SAN ANTONIO
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
B BOWEN F 36 3-6 1-2 1 2 3 3 2 0 1 9
T DUNCAN F 41 14-24 3-4 6 9 15 4 4 0 4 31
N MOHAMMED C 17 1-3 2-3 1 1 2 0 5 1 1 4
T PARKER G 38 8-21 0-0 1 0 1 2 3 0 2 18
E GINOBILI G 35 6-15 5-6 0 8 8 6 1 3 4 19
B BARRY 25 1-3 0-0 0 4 4 0 0 0 2 3
R HORRY 36 3-11 1-1 3 8 11 5 2 3 0 7
B UDRIH 10 3-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 8
T MASSENBURG 2 1-1 0-0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 2
G ROBINSON DNP - COACH'S DECISION
R NESTEROVIC DNP - COACH'S DECISION
D BROWN DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 40-87 12-16 14 33 47 21 20 7 14 101
(.460) (.750) TEAM REBS: 5 TOTAL TO: 14 (12 PTS)
PHOENIX
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Q RICHARDSON F 28 0-3 0-0 1 1 2 0 1 1 1 0
S MARION F 41 4-8 0-0 1 9 10 0 1 2 1 8
A STOUDEMIRE C 46 16-32 10-11 7 9 16 2 4 1 3 42
S NASH G 42 9-20 3-4 0 4 4 10 2 1 3 21
J JOHNSON G 42 6-17 0-0 1 3 4 4 2 1 1 14
J JACKSON 28 3-5 0-0 1 5 6 0 4 2 2 9
S HUNTER 13 0-2 1-2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
B OUTLAW DNP - COACH'S DECISION
W MCCARTY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J VOSKUHL DNP - COACH'S DECISION
P SHIRLEY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
L BARBOSA DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 38-87 14-17 12 31 43 16 14 8 11 95
(.437) (.824) TEAM REBS: 8 TOTAL TO: 12 (13 PTS)
SAN ANTONIO 24 25 29 23 - 101
PHOENIX 24 26 20 25 - 95
BLOCKED SHOTS: SAN ANTONIO - T DUNCAN 3, R HORRY, N MOHAMMED, B BOWEN.
PHOENIX - A STOUDEMIRE 4, S MARION, J JOHNSON.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: SAN ANTONIO 9-21 (.429), B BOWEN 2-3, T DUNCAN 0-
1, T PARKER 2-5, E GINOBILI 2-6, B BARRY 1-2, R HORRY 0-2, B UDRIH 2-
2. PHOENIX 5-17 (.294), Q RICHARDSON 0-1, S MARION 0-4, A STOUDEMIRE 0-
1, S NASH 0-3, J JOHNSON 2-4, J JACKSON 3-4.
TECHNICAL FOULS: NONE.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DICK BAVETTA, EDDIE F. RUSH, GREG WILLARD.
A - 18,422. T - 2:36.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Suns-Spurs Game 4 - About Time
Finally the Suns team we have all been expecting to see showed up. Apparently Amare went into the locker room after game 3 shouting "we are not getting swept". I guess he meant it. He was unbelievable. He has scored over 30 in every game this series and this game was no different. He dominated the 4-th quarter and that block he had on Duncan at the end was one of the most amazing thing I have ever seen. He got up in a hurry and blocked the shot as it was almost being dunked. His wrist was bent backwards as he blocked it and Timmy didn't know what hit him. Amare made several key plays on both ends of the floor and clinched the game for the Suns as the Spurs made a push in the fourth quarter as usual. Nash was back to being his usual self. Joe Johnson was sensational. He showed what we were missing this series. This guy is an integral part of the Suns offense and his high-percentage outside shooting is key to their success. He made a clutch shot coming out of a timeout with Bruce Bowen all over him. That showed his talent and also Mike D'Antoni's confidence in him.
For the Spurs, Timmy had a sub-par game. Ginobli was unbelievable as always. The Suns came up with a new strategy for Parker. They laid off of him and gave him the outside shot. They packed it in and forced him to shoot. This combined with Joe Johnson on him, made it difficult for him. I always thought he was a good enough shooter, but seems like his range is limited and letting him take the outside shot is the lesser of two evil. Apparently Joe Johnson went back to the huddle during a timeout in game 3 and said he didn't know Parker was this quick. He really is very quick and the Suns packing it in against him worked fine, at-least for one day. More than all of this, for the first time this series, the Suns played their game for an extended stretch in the 3-rd quarter. They were running and gunning. Nash was pushing, Marion was finishing and Joe Johnson and Q were hitting those outside jumpers. This was the stretch that won them the game. Hope they can do it more consistently. Now back to Phoenix hoping to win one more. I think they can do it and may be this series becomes real interesting. I am not expecting a RedSox-repeat, but may be I am hoping for one :-)
PHOENIX (111) AT SAN ANTONIO (106)
PHOENIX
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Q RICHARDSON F 40 5-12 1-1 0 6 6 2 4 0 1 14
S MARION F 45 5-12 0-0 3 11 14 2 2 0 1 11
A STOUDEMIRE C 37 13-23 5-6 3 2 5 1 4 2 4 31
J JOHNSON G 41 10-15 3-4 0 5 5 4 3 1 3 26
S NASH G 42 6-10 5-5 0 4 4 12 2 2 2 17
S HUNTER 14 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 0 3 0 2 4
J JACKSON 21 3-3 0-0 0 2 2 2 3 0 1 8
B OUTLAW DNP - COACH'S DECISION
W MCCARTY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J VOSKUHL DNP - COACH'S DECISION
P SHIRLEY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
L BARBOSA DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 44-77 14-16 7 30 37 23 21 5 14 111
(.571) (.875) TEAM REBS: 3 TOTAL TO: 14 (16 PTS)
SAN ANTONIO
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
B BOWEN F 44 6-11 0-0 0 5 5 1 4 1 0 15
T DUNCAN F 39 6-12 3-12 7 9 16 3 2 0 3 15
N MOHAMMED C 24 4-8 0-0 6 2 8 0 3 1 0 8
T PARKER G 35 5-17 3-4 1 2 3 5 1 2 6 13
E GINOBILI G 37 11-22 3-4 0 4 4 7 2 1 0 28
B BARRY 15 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 4 1 1 3
R HORRY 33 5-13 2-3 6 1 7 4 1 2 0 15
B UDRIH 13 4-9 0-0 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 9
T MASSENBURG DNP - COACH'S DECISION
G ROBINSON DNP - COACH'S DECISION
R NESTEROVIC DNP - COACH'S DECISION
D BROWN DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 42-95 11-23 20 25 45 22 18 9 11 106
(.442) (.478) TEAM REBS: 15 TOTAL TO: 12 (16 PTS)
PHOENIX 26 26 35 24 - 111
SAN ANTONIO 23 36 21 26 - 106
BLOCKED SHOTS: PHOENIX - S MARION 3, S HUNTER 2, A STOUDEMIRE. SAN ANTONIO -
T DUNCAN 2, B BARRY, N MOHAMMED, B UDRIH.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: PHOENIX 9-18 (.500), Q RICHARDSON 3-7, S MARION 1-
2, J JOHNSON 3-6, S NASH 0-1, J JACKSON 2-2. SAN ANTONIO 11-25 (.440),
B BOWEN 3-6, T PARKER 0-2, E GINOBILI 3-6, B BARRY 1-3, R HORRY 3-
4, B UDRIH 1-4.
TECHNICAL FOULS: PHOENIX - A STOUDEMIRE. SAN ANTONIO - E GINOBILI.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: BERNIE FRYER, JOE DEROSA, MIKE CALLAHAN.
A - 18,797. T - 2:30.
For the Spurs, Timmy had a sub-par game. Ginobli was unbelievable as always. The Suns came up with a new strategy for Parker. They laid off of him and gave him the outside shot. They packed it in and forced him to shoot. This combined with Joe Johnson on him, made it difficult for him. I always thought he was a good enough shooter, but seems like his range is limited and letting him take the outside shot is the lesser of two evil. Apparently Joe Johnson went back to the huddle during a timeout in game 3 and said he didn't know Parker was this quick. He really is very quick and the Suns packing it in against him worked fine, at-least for one day. More than all of this, for the first time this series, the Suns played their game for an extended stretch in the 3-rd quarter. They were running and gunning. Nash was pushing, Marion was finishing and Joe Johnson and Q were hitting those outside jumpers. This was the stretch that won them the game. Hope they can do it more consistently. Now back to Phoenix hoping to win one more. I think they can do it and may be this series becomes real interesting. I am not expecting a RedSox-repeat, but may be I am hoping for one :-)
PHOENIX (111) AT SAN ANTONIO (106)
PHOENIX
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Q RICHARDSON F 40 5-12 1-1 0 6 6 2 4 0 1 14
S MARION F 45 5-12 0-0 3 11 14 2 2 0 1 11
A STOUDEMIRE C 37 13-23 5-6 3 2 5 1 4 2 4 31
J JOHNSON G 41 10-15 3-4 0 5 5 4 3 1 3 26
S NASH G 42 6-10 5-5 0 4 4 12 2 2 2 17
S HUNTER 14 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 0 3 0 2 4
J JACKSON 21 3-3 0-0 0 2 2 2 3 0 1 8
B OUTLAW DNP - COACH'S DECISION
W MCCARTY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J VOSKUHL DNP - COACH'S DECISION
P SHIRLEY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
L BARBOSA DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 44-77 14-16 7 30 37 23 21 5 14 111
(.571) (.875) TEAM REBS: 3 TOTAL TO: 14 (16 PTS)
SAN ANTONIO
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
B BOWEN F 44 6-11 0-0 0 5 5 1 4 1 0 15
T DUNCAN F 39 6-12 3-12 7 9 16 3 2 0 3 15
N MOHAMMED C 24 4-8 0-0 6 2 8 0 3 1 0 8
T PARKER G 35 5-17 3-4 1 2 3 5 1 2 6 13
E GINOBILI G 37 11-22 3-4 0 4 4 7 2 1 0 28
B BARRY 15 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 4 1 1 3
R HORRY 33 5-13 2-3 6 1 7 4 1 2 0 15
B UDRIH 13 4-9 0-0 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 9
T MASSENBURG DNP - COACH'S DECISION
G ROBINSON DNP - COACH'S DECISION
R NESTEROVIC DNP - COACH'S DECISION
D BROWN DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 42-95 11-23 20 25 45 22 18 9 11 106
(.442) (.478) TEAM REBS: 15 TOTAL TO: 12 (16 PTS)
PHOENIX 26 26 35 24 - 111
SAN ANTONIO 23 36 21 26 - 106
BLOCKED SHOTS: PHOENIX - S MARION 3, S HUNTER 2, A STOUDEMIRE. SAN ANTONIO -
T DUNCAN 2, B BARRY, N MOHAMMED, B UDRIH.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: PHOENIX 9-18 (.500), Q RICHARDSON 3-7, S MARION 1-
2, J JOHNSON 3-6, S NASH 0-1, J JACKSON 2-2. SAN ANTONIO 11-25 (.440),
B BOWEN 3-6, T PARKER 0-2, E GINOBILI 3-6, B BARRY 1-3, R HORRY 3-
4, B UDRIH 1-4.
TECHNICAL FOULS: PHOENIX - A STOUDEMIRE. SAN ANTONIO - E GINOBILI.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: BERNIE FRYER, JOE DEROSA, MIKE CALLAHAN.
A - 18,797. T - 2:30.
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