| Suns Regain Confidence, Win Game 5 Authored by J.T. Magee - May 3, 2006 - 6:44 am
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Boris Diaw led the Suns with 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He fell one assist short of his fifth career triple-double and fifth this season. His most impressive stat: zero turnovers. He also finished the game with 11-11 from the free throw line.
Steve Nash ended up with 22 points, but had only four assists and four turnovers. Shawn Marion has another good game, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass. Tim Thomas shook off his knee injury to score 13 points off the bench. Both Leandro Barbosa and Bell finished with 11 points. James Jones scored nine points and had nine rebounds.
Kobe Bryant, before being ejected, scored 29 points, had seven rebounds, five assists and a game-high five turnovers. Lamar Odom continued his dominance of the Suns, scoring 18 points, grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds and dishing out six assists. Kwame Brown was the only other Laker to finish in double figures, ending up with 14 points.
This game was about three things (before the Bell
incident): the Suns regaining their confidence, rebounding and Boris Diaw. Phoenix made their shots, but they kept the Lakers off the glass. Los Angeles may have taken this game lightly, knowing that there is going to be a chance to win it on their home court.
Either way, Phoenix came into this game knowing it was a must-win and they played with enough confidence to take this game.
Their rebounding was at its peak tonight. They attacked the offensive glass, an area the Lakers aren't strong in. Odom has been the most consistent rebounder for L.A., but other than him, they don't have a go-to rebounder. Phoenix used a collective effort on the glass. The one player who stood out was James Jones. Jones is the player who needs to be rebounding when his shots aren't falling. He was doing that tonight and if he continues his efforts on the glass, the Suns have a very good chance at taking Game
6 in L.A.
While the Suns played well tonight, it was all about Diaw. Boris Diaw was amazing tonight. He did everything for Phoenix. He was the other rebounder that Marion has needed. He was the play maker the Suns needed after Nash. But he stepped up his aggressiveness and that is what everyone has been waiting to see out of him. Coming into the season, Diaw almost showed a carefree attitude with the lowly Atlanta Hawks. Even with Phoenix, he never really took it to the rack with a passion. But tonight, he was looking to attack the weakest part of the Lakers and did so with great succession. He has become the key for Phoenix. Diaw is the key to Phoenix's ferrari:
they can only get to top speed when he's in the ignition.
Through all of this, Raja Bell messed everything up.
When he clotheslined Bryant in the 4th quarter, it cost them the series. No matter what anyone says, Bell will be suspended. It was amazing that Reggie Evans didn't get suspended for his area-grabbing of Chris Kaman, so it might be a possibility that Bell doesn't get suspended. But Bryant is the face of the NBA, so it's very hard to see Bell not getting suspended for Game 6. Either way, Bryant will come in all fired up, score 56 and take it into his own hands. Which is exactly what the Suns want. Except they don't have anyone to guard Bryant and still have problems with Odom.
If Phoenix wants to win Game 6, with or without Bell, they have to have that same confidence they had in Game 5. Everyone knew the Suns wanted this game and they took. All they have to do now is make sure they break the game open by hitting their shots and not let it get close in the final seconds. If they do, it could mean a longer season for this overachieving team. But if they can maintain their pace like they did in Game 5, they have a legitimate chance at bringing it back to Phoenix for the deciding Game 7. |
