| Not Yet On That Hallway Series Authored by J.T. Magee - May 5, 2006 - 4:07 am
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
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Phoenix took control the whole way, finally closing out a game and winning 126-118 in Overtime. It was just the second win in overtime for the Suns in seven games, but it couldn't have come at a better time. Tim Thomas atoned for his two terrible shot in the last minute by hitting a three over Kwame Brown and sending the game into OT. From there, the combined play of Boris Diaw and Shawn Marion was too much for Kobe Bryant to overcome.
Steve Nash, playing through a bad back that won't get any better the rest of the way, scored 32 points, dished out 13 assists and made each free throw he attempted (13). Leandro Barbosa, starting in place of the suspended Raja Bell, scored a career playoff-high 22 points on 7-9 shooting and 6-7 from the free throw line. Thomas came off the bench again and finished with 21 points, including his only two three pointers in the final minute and overtime. Marion scored 20 points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and ball-hawked 4 steals. James Jones, the only other Sun to receive more than seven minutes, scored ten points and grabbed five rebounds.
Fortunately for Phoenix, Kobe Bryant was the main scoring option for the Lakers. He scored 50 points (the seventh time this season), grabbed eight rebounds and passed out five assists. He committed seven turnovers. Lamar Odom fell an assist short of a triple-double, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Kwame Brown fell one rebound short of a double-double, scoring 17 points and nine rebounds. Devean George came off the bench to score 14 points and Luke Walton wound up with ten.
This game was all about Shawn Marion. He scored, he rebounded, he collected a lot of steals. But his defense on Kobe Bryant is what turned the game around for the Suns. He gave Bryant many problems on both ends of the court.
When he was on defense, Bryant got his points, but Marion made sure Bryant didn't score when it mattered most: at the end. He came within inches of blocking Bryant's potential buzzer-beating shot, instead altering it into an air ball. Whenever Bryant tried to make something else for his teammates, it didn't work, so he felt he had to play by himself. And Marion made sure he did just that, taking the entire Laker team out of the game in the process.
Los Angeles did not play their game plan. They rebounded the ball well, but Bryant took way to many shots and committed way too many turnovers (a series-high 20). Thank goodness for Phoenix, their jump shots were falling.
Leandro Barbosa cam alive today and everyone played off of each other. He played with the confidence that eroded in the regular season. They played with a vengeance tonight and showed the confidence they had in the regular season. Each player made their free throws and 3-point shots. Offense caries the Suns and tonight it paid great dividends.
Their execution in the half-court compared to the previous 5 games was very impressive. They forced the Lakers to switch every pick & roll, creating a mismatch for both offensive players. Diaw was aggressive but still passed up open lay ups. He did take it strong when he needed to and his soft right-handed hook was dropping with consistency. Nash was making plays off of his drives and took the shots he needed to make and made them. Each Sun played with confidence and their execution in the post and overall half-court offense couldn't have been better.
The way they played tonight, Phoenix has the confidence and the return of their best permitter defender in Bell coming back for Game 7. If they can take it to the rack like they were tonight and their shots fall like they were tonight, they could end the premature Hallway Series talk. And make sure they have the advantage heading into their series with the Clippers.
That other L.A. team. |
