Big games usually end up being anything but. A lot of hype and a big thud sometimes. This one was different, actually much different. Phoenix and Dallas played a classic today which had everything. The game did not just feature one big comeback, it featured 2. The game did not just need one OT, it needed 2. The game did not just feature one MVP type performance, it featured 2. May be even 3. The Suns ran away with the first quarter and led by 14 after one. Dallas cut into that lead in the second and absolutely crushed the Suns in the third 38-16. The game looked over. The crowd was roaring. The Suns offense had stalled and it was late in the game now with the Suns trailing by 15 on the road. Nash returned to start the fourth instead of resting like he usually does. He was needed to stop the bleeding and he did just that. Slowly the Suns cut into the 15 point lead. Suns can't get too many stops. So sometimes these comebacks take longer if they are not pouring in the threes on offense. They got to within 8, 7 and 6, but it appeared like they were running out of time.
Then Nash took over with a lot of help from the Mavs. He got a couple of quick scores. He got fouled a couple of times. With the Suns trailing by 5, Josh Howard jumped at Nash's fake and fouled him to give him 3 freebies. Nash hit all 3 and the Suns fouled Nowitzki. He then obliged them by splitting his 2 free throws. So now the Suns had the ball trailing by 3 with 14 secs to go. Nash dribbled up court and took a quick 3. It rimmed out, but Marion was the right guy at the right spot as he secured the offensive board and passed it to Nash again. Nash got a do-over on his 3 and nailed it this time. This guy is just awesome. Suddenly the game was tied and Dirk still had just 2.7 secs to try his magic. He beat the Suns on a buzzer beater the last time these 2 teams played at Dallas. But this time he missed the shot and the game went to overtime.
Amare had a phenomenal game though Nash's finger-prints seemed to be all over this game. Nash did score 10 points in the last 55 secs or so, but Amare shot 16-19 in this game for 41 points with a lot of them coming in the first overtime! He hit a lot of mid-range jumpers too, which is the new wrinkle to his game. I am sure the Mavs had visions of what Amare did to them 2 years back in the playoffs. They couldn't stop him them, they still can't stop him today. It was once again a 2 man game with Nash and Amare (and Terry and Nowitzki at the other end) down the stretch. This game looked every bit like a playoff contest. Amare dominated the OT despite 2 horrible offensive foul calls on him. One was a flop by Josh Howard with Amare trying hard not to crash into him and the other one was a elbow to the face of Stackhouse who just dove to the floor like he was shot. I am OK with the second call, but the first one was really bad. So the Suns couldn't close it out in the first OT though they had the lead. Terry hit a clutch 3 to tie the game with Nash right in his mug. Suns had the last shot with 4.9 seconds to go. D'Antoni drew up a play for Barbosa. I was OK with that call. LB is not a bad offensive option especially when the whole World is expecting them to goto Nash. He can drive on anybody and he got to the paint, but couldn't finish. Terry did a decent job of staying with him and Dirk jumped at him at the end too. So time for the second OT.
In the second OT, more great plays from both sides. Big shots all over the place. Stack hit a big 3. Marion had a great steal on Terry. Terry actually had a bad second OT with 3 turnovers. With Mavs trailing by 2, Nash made a brilliant play to steal the inbounds pass and throw it out off of Terry's leg. He also took a charge on Terry after Dallas stole the ball from him. Lots of drama, but it finally came down to Nowitzki again with the ball trailing by 2. He missed the shot with Nash soaring for the final defensive rebound of the game. Fitting end, considering how the Mavs absolutely dominated the Suns on the offensive board 27-11 once again exposing the Suns lack of size. The Mavs also shot 55% from 3 against the Suns modest 41%. Amazing that the Suns won the game with those kind of numbers.
Both Nash and Nowitzki had MVP type games. Nowitzki had 30-16-6 and Nash had 32-8-16. But Nash also had the game tying 3, a clutch steal, took a charge at the end and got the game's final rebound. And by the way, he got the W. I think Nash is looking like the MVP every time he steps on the court. The bigger the game, the bigger is his game. He is a special, special player. The doubters are looking more and more stupid every game.
In other games, Starbury's 31 was not good enough to push the Knicks over the Raptors. The King came back and had 29 points to beat the Grizzlies. How bad are the Grizzlies if only 14000 people showed up to see King James? Elton Brand had 37 points and the Clip-joint gave a good fight to the Rockets, but the Rockets won 109-105. Agent-0 had 35-5-8 as the Wizards dumped the Pacers. The surprising game of the day was the Magic beating the Jazz 101-90 in Orlando. Dwight Howard had 31-15 and C-Boozer's 29-7 was no match on this day.
Phoenix @ Dallas - 129-127
New York @ Toronto - 94-104
Interesting games on the board for Mar 15-th (Thursday)
LA Lakers @ Denver - Kobe-V-AI, but the Lakers are beat right now.
Miami @ New Jersey - Can the Heat continue their win streak?
No comments:
Post a Comment