| Suns Pull Out Stunner In Game 6 Authored by J.T. Magee - May 17, 2006 - 2:49 am
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Bell, their best three-point shooter in the entire series, sent the game into double overtime with a three point shot. Phoenix then capitalized on L.A.’s collapse, winning a classic 125-118 and sending the Clippers one game away from elimination.
For every Shawn Marion doubter, there is no way anyone can put the blame on him tonight. He came back from a tweaked ankle injury late in the game and finished with an unprecedented 36 points, 20 rebounds and a block. He shot 16-33 from the floor and 4-6 from the free throw line. He failed to make any of his five three point attempts.
Tim Thomas provided a huge scoring punch, scoring 25 points, including 5-8 from downtown. Raja Bell, the only other Sun besides Thomas and Barbosa to make a 3, scored 22 points, including the 3 that sent it into double overtime. He also had five rebounds and a game and playoff career-high 4 steals. Steve Nash shook off three bad decisions late in the game and finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists. He committed five turnovers, three of which came in the last seconds of the fourth quarter and the first overtime.
Leandro Barbosa, a.k.a. S.T.U.D., scored 15 off the pine and also dished out a playoff career-high five assists. Boris Diaw scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out six assists. He was the inbounder for Bell’s 3. James jones has an off night shooting the ball and scored just two points, both from the free throw line. But he also had eight rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass.
As great as Marion was for the Suns, Elton Brand was just as important to the Clippers. He scored 33 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, passed out five assists and blocked 5 shots. Sam Cassell scored 32 points, 27 of which came after the first half. He also had five assists and four turnovers, including one in the fourth quarter that could’ve been costly for L.A.
Vladimir Radmanovic came off the bench to score 13 points, including 4-7 from the 3-point line. Chris Kaman scored 11 points and grabbed ten rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive glass. Cuttino Mobley scored just ten points on 5-17 shooting.
This game was all about Marion stepping up when the Suns needed him most. Doug Collins said it best after the game: he was magnificent. He was everywhere on the floor and continued to make plays when the Suns needed a bucket the most. Taking out his five 3-point attempts, he shot 57% from the floor. He couldn’t be stopped from crashing the offensive glass and he was making the necessary cuts to the hoop off Barbosa and Nash drives.
As great as Marion was, if wasn’t for both Bell and Thomas’ marksmanship from downtown, Phoenix wouldn’t be where they are at. aside from a late Barbosa 3 (in double overtime), they were the only two players to make a 3-pointer the entire game. Those two combined to shoot 10-15, but everyone else, including Marion and Nash, shot 1-14. That’s not the recipe for success. Neither is getting out shot from the free throw line (32 attempts to Phoenix’s 21). But they hung in there and pulled off their second win in overtime in the playoffs.
Another positive out of this game for Phoenix was what Barbosa and Jones did that didn’t show up in the scoring part of the box score. They were both off tonight, but they made plays and gave the Suns more opportunities to score. Jones was relentless on the glass tonight. He’s not a pure jump shooter and the Suns are trying to make him one. He’s better off getting a mismatch down low, working his man in and either shooting over him, drawing a foul or passing to an open teammate. As long as he rebounds like he did tonight (or is it yesterday?), no matter how much playing time he gets, he will not be a negative influence on the court.
The other positive was Barbosa finally awakening his inner point guard. He was working the pick & roll to perfection, feeding Marion twice off cuts and getting teammates involved. He finished with just five assists, but that’s a career playoff-high for him. What a better time for it to come.
As for the Clippers, they played as good as they could’ve have, but they were just as worn out as Phoenix and couldn’t get it together. Brand was their go-to guy, but when he couldn’t pass it out of the double team, they could not get a good look. It did not help that Mobley was horrendous tonight, either.
They must slow the game down more than they did and not commit the costly turnovers at crucial times. The Suns have collapsed before and if the Clippers want to take Game 6, they must capitalize on Phoenix’s mistakes rather than letting Nash and co. capitalize on theirs.
Overall, it was a great game from both teams. Each team made some big turnovers late and it could’ve been a different outcome. For both teams, they will rest their players a lot in Game 6 and make sure that Game 7, if there is a Game 7, is the one that dictates what team goes into the Finals: the overachieving Suns or the overachieving Clippers. Either way, there’s an underdog to root for and it will be a great two games. |
