This game reminded me of game 3 from 2 years ago in the Western Finals when the Suns and the Spurs played a similar Saturday night game. The Suns were trailing 0-2 in that series and just got harassed in to a really ugly defeat in San Antonio. This one was not that ugly but the result was the same. They lost another tough one at San Antonio with the Spurs dictating everything in this game, especially late. It's amazing how robotic this Spurs team is. They just strangle you to death with their defense, make the game boring, take you out of your rhythm, make you shoot badly, and finally win. Sometimes you watch the Spurs game and you can't help but think you have seen this game before. Same script, same players, same plays and mostly the same result.
This game started OK for the Suns, but Nash was really off. He missed his first 9 shots, which is unheard of for this guy. He was actually scoreless in the first half. Amare was in foul trouble all night and he also had to deal with "dirty" chants from the crowd in response to him calling the Spurs dirty. Still the Suns scored 30 in the first quarter, but the Spurs took control of the game after that. They won the second quarter and throttled the Suns completely in the third with the Suns just scoring 19. Raja Bell shot 4-4 from the 3-point line in the first half, but never got a touch after that. He was not happy about it after the game.
All along Timmy was on fire. There are a lot of people who say this guy should be a MVP every year and there's some truth to it. He is not even a top candidate these days because his scoring numbers are down with the development of Parker and Ginobli. But you could argue that the fact he accepts a lesser scoring role in the regular season should only add to his case for a MVP because he steps up every time in the playoffs the last couple of seasons. The Spurs know where their bread is buttered and thats in Duncan's kitchen. They turn to him in the playoffs when games become tougher, the tempo slows down, possessions become more important and the jumpers don't always go in. Thats when he shows us what he can do scoring wise if and when they want him to. Of course he always dominates the other parts of the game with his defense and rebounding.
This game was one of those classic Tim Duncan games. He had 33-19 with 3 blocks. After all that talk about how Kurt Thomas stopped him last game, he showed it was all a mirage. Nobody can stop this guy and even in game 3, he shot a very high percentage. It's just that Kurt didn't foul out and he played him one-on-one protecting the other Suns. But no such benefits in this game as Kurt couldn't stop him and Amare got into foul trouble anyways. Amare had 21 points in just 21 minutes that he managed to stay on the floor. The Suns need him on the floor for them have a shot in this series. For the Spurs, Ginobli got going big time as well as he got poked in the eye by Marion and still ended up with 24 points. Some people expected Pop to start him. That didn't happen, but he got going finally. More problem for the Suns now.
Nash turned it around in the second half and tried to keep the Suns in it. The Spurs gave the 3 to Marion and he shot well to score 26 in this game. Nash played real well in the 4-Th, but it was too little too late. The Suns cut it to 6 a couple of time late in the game, but they just could not get the stops with Duncan scoring at will. Nash went 6/8 after starting 0/9 and had 11 assists as well, but still took responsibility for the defeat.
In any case, it feels like deja vu for the Suns though they just have to win the next game, one game, and they are back in it. Entirely possible as they have been close in both the games they lost and blew the Spurs out once. But it still feels uneasy because these are the Spurs and vast stretches of this series are played at their pace and their level of physicality. Nash got kicked in the groin today by Bowen and there were a lot of talk by the Suns about just toughening up after this game. The Spurs seems to be in their heads right now and D'Antoni seemed pissed that the NBA lets a different style of play in the playoffs. He seems to suggest that it's just too physical and it cramps his team's entertaining style of play that the fans enjoy if only they are allowed to play it. Interesting thought for the NBA, but the Suns and their fans have more immediate concerns.
Teams 1 2 3 4
Phoenix 30 23 19 29 101
San Antonio 25 30 25 28 108
Phoenix
SHOOTING REB
name fg ft 3pt o-t ast to stl blk pf pts
Shawn Marion 11-21 1-2 3-6 1-7 0 2 2 4 1 26
Kurt Thomas 3-8 2-2 0-0 0-12 1 1 1 3 5 8
Amare Stoudemire 7-11 7-11 0-0 3-5 1 1 0 0 5 21
Raja Bell 4-6 0-0 4-4 0-2 0 1 0 1 5 12
Steve Nash 6-17 2-3 2-5 0-8 11 5 0 0 3 16
Leandro Barbosa 2-6 2-3 0-2 0-2 4 3 1 1 1 6
Boris Diaw 4-7 2-4 0-0 1-3 3 3 0 0 4 10
James Jones 0-0 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Jalen Rose - - - -
Pat Burke - - - -
Jumaine Jones - - - -
Marcus Banks - - - -
Eric Piatkowski - - - -
Sean Marks - - - -
TOTALS 37-76 18-27 9-17 5-39 20 16 4 9 24 101
FG %:.487; FT %:.667; 3PT %:.529
Points of TO:16
Team rebounds:10
Technical fouls:
Illegal defence:0
San Antonio
SHOOTING REB
name fg ft 3pt o-t ast to stl blk pf pts
Bruce Bowen 3-6 2-2 2-4 1-9 2 1 4 1 2 10
Tim Duncan 12-19 9-14 0-0 5-19 0 0 0 3 4 33
Francisco Elson 1-1 2-2 0-0 0-1 0 3 0 0 1 4
Michael Finley 2-10 3-3 2-5 1-2 3 2 1 0 2 9
Tony Parker 7-18 2-4 0-2 1-4 5 2 0 0 0 16
Manu Ginobili 8-19 7-7 1-3 0-2 4 1 3 1 4 24
Robert Horry 1-5 4-4 1-3 1-5 1 1 0 0 4 7
Jacque Vaughn 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fabricio Oberto 1-1 0-0 0-0 2-2 2 0 1 0 4 2
Brent Barry 1-3 0-0 1-3 0-3 2 0 0 0 1 3
Melvin Ely - - - -
Jackie Butler - - - -
Matt Bonner - - - -
Beno Udrih - - - -
James White - - - -
TOTALS 36-82 29-36 7-20 11-47 19 10 9 5 22 108
FG %:.439; FT %:.806; 3PT %:.350
Points of TO:23
Team rebounds:5
Technical fouls:
Illegal defence:0
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