| Suns Not Quite Ready To Set In San Antonio Authored by Graham Flashner - May 31, 2005 - 3:55 am
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Starting with Quentin Richardson’s three-pointer, the Suns came out with the energy and desperation they lacked in Game 3. With Joe Johnson (10-15, 26 points) rediscovering his touch, and Steve Nash rebounding from a disappointing 2-assist performance in Game 3 by dishing out 12, Phoenix took a first-quarter lead for the first time in the series, then wiped out a seven-point halftime deficit and went up by eight early in the fourth.
They chased the Spurs all over the court, kept Duncan (15 points, 3-12 from the foul line) bottled up, and harassed Tony Parker into a 5-17 shooting night. But they had no answer for Manu Ginobili (28 points), and the wily Spurs, combating the Sun’s 1-2 punch of Nash and Stoudemire with a full complement of big shots from Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, and Robert Horry, twice drew to within a point in the final minutes.
Then came the three plays.
First, there was The Pass. With the Suns up 107-106, Nash got himself trapped in the corner. With Ginobili hanging all over him like a cheap suit and Nash about to fall out of bounds, he somehow threaded a long bounce pass through the lane to Stoudemire, who scored on a difficult layup in traffic, Bruce Bowen flopping in a failed attempt to draw a charge.
Next came The Block, possibly the defining moment of Stoudemire’s young career. With the Suns up 3 and 36 seconds to play, Duncan gathered in a pass under the basket and went up for a jam. It was so automatic that most players wouldn’t bother contending it. But Stoudemire went right up with Duncan and got his hand on the ball with perfect time, reversing the downward motion of Duncan’s arm. As Stoudemire came down with the ball, he looked as surprised as Duncan looked astonished. It was that kind of night for Duncan: earlier, he shot an airball free throw, and was nowhere near the dominant force he was in Game 3.
Finally, there was The Offensive Rebound. With the Spurs hoping for one more crack at a game-tying three, the Suns came down and missed. As the ball bounced out past the foul line, Stoudemire outwitted, outfought, and outhustled two Spurs for the rebound, and the Suns controlled the ball with 9 seconds left. Nash clinched the game with two free throws.
It’s doubtful the Suns will be able to repeat such heroics for three more games, and it’s even more doubtful that Duncan and Parker will both have sub-par performances in the same game.
But for one game, at least, the Suns put all their weapons together, silencing the critics who’ve been predicting their demise all along at the hands of the opportunistic, tenacious Spurs. As for San Antonio, there’s no shame in not being able to sweep the best road team in the NBA this year, and no reason to think the Spurs won’t take care of business in Game 5.
If they don’t, however, this series officially becomes interesting again. |
