| Raja's Willis-Like Return Leads To Game 4 Win Authored by J.T. Magee - May 31, 2006 - 2:17 am
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Bell only scored nine points in 30 minutes, but his play on both ends of the floor sparked a Suns’ team in need of a jolt. His hustle, along with help from the bench, helped the Suns even up the series 2-2 in their 106-86 win over Dallas. Phoenix shot the lights out the entire game, eventually outscoring the Mavericks 29-4 in the second half and 11-0 in the first quarter.
Leandro Barbosa, Bell’s replacement in the starting lineup in his absence, scored a game-high 24 points off the bench. He shot 10-13 from the floor, including 4-6 from the 3-point line and added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Steve Nash scored 21 points, dished out seven assists and added a blocked shot.
Boris Diaw, becoming the player of the series for Phoenix, scored 20 points for the fourth time in this series. He added nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Shawn Marion had a better game overall, but his points weren’t there again. He scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds and added 3 steals and blocks.
Josh Howard led a poor-shooting Mavericks team with 16 points and nine rebounds. Adrian Griffin and Jason Terry each scored 13 points and both Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse scored ten points. Dirk Nowitzki led the porous outing for the Mavericks, scoring just 11 points on 3-13 from the floor. He added seven rebounds and two turnovers.
This game served as a wake up call for Phoenix. They needed some sort of boost and they got it from Bell. His overall play, including trying to flop almost any time he could, ignited the Suns’ intensity on both ends of the floor. They were scrapping for loose balls, offensive rebounds and making the right cuts to the hoop. They attacked the hoop when Desagana Diop was out and drew him away from the hoop when he was in the game. They made their shots like they normally do, but at an amazing clip (54%). They played like the Suns everyone jumped on the bandwagon for. They played like the high-octane team they would be with a full lineup. But the best part of their Game 4 win? They played like the #2 seed should against a #4 seed.
Say what you want, Phoenix is the #2 seed and has not played like they usually do. They have made good adjustments in unlikely situations, but they never did enough to break open the game open and keep it that way. Dallas had the better record in the regular season, but the Suns are the #2 seed and played like it on both ends of the floor. They kept Nowitzki on his heels and made sure he could and would not make the rights adjustments to get back in the game. Sure, the refs were terribly in favor of Phoenix tonight, but Dallas had no excuse for shooting 41% and allowing a team like the Suns, who feed off speed and quick plays, to make their statement: this is not over.
Everyone stepped up for the Suns, but the bench played their arses off.
To start off, Barbosa, a.k.a. S.T.U.D., got his shot going early and used that confidence throughout the entire game. He played like the combo guard who cannot be stopped by anyone on the Mavericks’ squad. His shot was absolutely deadly. He was able to create off the dribble for lay-ups and pull-up jumpers. He was everywhere he needed to be on offense and they worked around his play. He did a remarkable job on both Griffin and Stackhouse despite giving up, at a minimum, 20+ pounds of muscle to both. He played like a guard in need of a slap-in-the-face and he came out to play.
The other guard, Eddie House, proved that he deserved, at a minimum, 18-20 minutes a game. His defense on Terry was unnoticed by the entire broadcast team from TNT. Everywhere Terry went, House was. He forced him into tough shots. He ran around with him on screens and made sure he was there when Terry got the ball. He made his shots and no one on Dallas could block his jumper. He made quick decisions and did not turn the ball over in the amount of time he was in the game.
The Suns need a backup point guard, but that’s only because Nash has played way too much in the playoffs. House did enough in this game to merit a decent amount of playing time. If he can come in, give the offense a decent lift and provide them with enough offense while Nash is on the bench, they have a chance to steal Game 5 at Dallas. But they’ll need the other guy off the bench to provide the rebounding effort he did in Game 4.
James Jones’ shot has not been falling in the playoffs at all. As a result, his playing has been as often as a made shot for him. But in Game 4, he was everywhere the Suns needed a lift. He had eight rebounds and one offensive rebound. In the 18 minutes he was on the floor, he had a little over 20% of their rebounding total. That is a number the Suns can live with, even if his shot isn’t falling. But in Game 4, it was. For the first time all series and for the first time since, he made a 3-pointer. He’s not a set shooter and not a pull-up shooter, but if the Suns can post him up on a smaller player and let him shoot over that defender, they can get, at a minimum, six points on four shots. It won’t be much, but it will add to that rebounding efficiency the Suns need.
Going into Game 5, the Suns must force the turnovers they were forcing in Game 4. Even if Dallas makes them on their own, they must capitalize on each and score as often as they can. If they can force nine turnovers from the starting lineup like they did in Game 4, they have a chance to steal Game 4 in Dallas and a chance to win this entire series in 6. If they can get the offensive output they got form everyone, including Barbosa, in Game 5, they have a very solid chance to reach the NBA Finals that have been out of reach since Charles Barkley was with the team. It would be quite the achievement since they have 4 small forwards in the frontcourt. |
