| Suns Avoid Elimination, Win Game 4 Authored by J.T. Magee - May 31, 2005 - 4:35 am
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Phoenix forced a Game 5 against San Antonio, becoming just the fourth team to win at the SBC Center, beating the Spurs 111-106. The Suns joined Memphis, Denver and Seattle as the only teams to beat the Spurs in their house.
Center Amare Stoudemire and shooting guard Joe Johnson led the way for Phoenix, who led by as many as 11 but gave the Spurs a chance when Robert Horry hit a three to bring the game within one. Phoenix never let them get any closer. They had a chance to tie the game, but power forward Tim Duncan’s dunk was blocked by STAT (Stoudemire) and MVP Steve Nash made the game-clinching free throws. That block was his only one of the game.
STAT scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed five rebounds. Johnson scored 26 points on 10-15 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists. 13 of his 26 points came in the third quarter. Nash had 17 points and 12 assists. He committed just two turnovers, compared to six in the previous game. Power forward Shawn Marion had his best game of the series, scoring just 11 points but grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking 3 shots. Swingman Quentin Richardson scored 14 points, including 3 three-pointers, and added six rebounds.
Duncan and Manu Ginobili led San Antonio. Ginobili finished with 28 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Duncan, Horry and small forward Bruce Bowen all scored 15 points. Duncan added 16 rebounds, seven offensive, and two blocks. Horry grabbed seven rebounds, six offensive. Bowen had his highest scoring playoff game. Point guard Tony Parker, who had been torching the Suns in the previous three games, scored just 13 points on 5-17 shooting and committed six turnovers.
Phoenix played with the urgency that they showed in Game 3, but did it for more than just a stretch in the fourth quarter. They played great team defense, forcing Parker to settle for the open jumper, the weakest part of his offensive game. They made sure that when they doubled on Duncan that he would have a very hard time getting the ball to the open man. Backup center Steven Hunter came in and contributed with two blocks and good interior defense on Duncan. But the best ball was on offense.
The Suns made sure they ran, finishing with 26 fast break points, compared to the Spurs’ 13. They made sure they held onto their lead, something they were unable to do in the first two games. And they made sure Nash would get his teammates involved more, making sure that he didn’t have to put a big chunk of the offensive load on his shoulders. But one stat stands out more than anything else: their field goal percentage. They shot 57%, their best in the series. When they shoot that well, they can’t be beat. They shot 9 for 18 from the arc. Only two Suns, Richardson and Marion, shot under 50% (both ended with 5 of 12 field goals made).
Even the first-team All-NBA Defense member Bruce Bowen could not contain Joe Johnson. He made his jump shots. He was able to finish in the lane. He made his three-pointers. Well, 3 of 6, but going 50% from the arc is something that Phoenix needs to do if they want to stretch this series any farther than Wednesday night. And Stoudemire showed why he is Standing Tall And Talented. Stoudemire was unstoppable. He used hop-steps, drop steps, pump fakes and pure brute force to get into the lane and finish near the basket. In his words, ‘I stepped up.’ But it wasn’t just him. It helped that Marion was more aggressive on the glass. It helped that Johnson showed why he will be one of the most sought after free agents this summer. It helped that Phoenix put it all together and won.
One thing that Phoenix showed, or didn’t show, is that they were tired. It’s funny when situations like this happen. Everyone said that Phoenix would be too tired by this stage. But when you’re having fun on the court, getting easy baskets and open looks, you don’t tire. I know when I play down at the local YMCA and I get on a fast break with my friends, I make sure that we score. It makes playing easier, and my teammates and I don’t tire out. We are still able to run because we don’t think about losing. Losing gets to you. On the court, you get upset, and it affects how you play, how your condition is. But when you win, you don’t think about that. You think about how fun it was to throw a no-look bounce pass to the guy on the right of you, making sure that he gets it in a position where he can score without taking a dribble.
With Phoenix, they make sure that they keep a positive attitude and have fun. If they didn’t do that, they wouldn’t be this far after that five game losing streak they got when Nash went down with that thigh injury. They just make sure to run and have fun.
That’s how they win, and when they win, they don’t think about being tired. They don’t even think. They just focus on the next game. In Game 4, they made sure that even though they were focused on winning, they made sure that they played the style of basketball that got them into the Western Conference Finals.
Going into Game 5, Phoenix will have even more confidence than they did in Game 4. They will not want to lose in front of their home crowd. They will come even more fired up than they did in Game 4, proving to the world that Game 4 was no fluke. But San Antonio will make sure that they end this thing as quickly as possible. They will want to get Parker in the lane more, forcing the big-men to double on him. They will make sure that Duncan doesn’t have such a hard time getting his shots off. It won’t matter. Phoenix could be the first team since the 1962 Detroit Pistons to force a Game 6 after losing the first 3. If they keep running and running and running like they did, they very well could be. Would be. Should be. Will be? |
