Jimcs50
05-23-2005, 06:50 AM
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
May. 23, 2005 12:00 AM
They were unfazed by an eight-point hole in the third quarter. They destroyed their opponent with three-pointers. They put the ball through the net as if it were a pizza parlor's pop-a-shot machine.
They played like the Suns and champions all in one.
They are the San Antonio Spurs, who turned as pesky as termites in the Suns' house Sunday. San Antonio knocked down four three-pointers in a 43-point, fourth-quarter deluge that gave the Spurs a 121-114 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. advertisement
Quickly, the clouds rolled in on the Suns' bright playoff roll. Since 1990, 27 of the 30 teams that have won Game 1 of the conference finals have gone on to win the series.
Phoenix's Jim Jackson already called Game 2 Tuesday at America West Arena a must win, and Spurs star Tim Duncan isn't satisfied.
"We would love to go out there and get this second one and really put them on their heels," said Duncan, who played on a tender ankle but delivered a 28-point, 15-rebound performance.
To even the series, Phoenix must find the missing energy, most notably from Shawn Marion, and effort, most notably on defense. The Suns learned Sunday that San Antonio, which led the league in scoring defense and was second in defensive field-goal percentage, could handle up-tempo games into the 100s.
"We're willing to be the chameleon," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We usually change according to what other people do. We don't try to impose our will too much."
Phoenix forced its offensive will but not its desire to run. The Suns scored only six fast-break points and were missing the three-point punch off their secondary break - if a layup is not there, the Suns are adept at finding an open three-point shooter.
San Antonio, 3-0 this season with a full team playing Phoenix, stuck to its regular-season plan of denying the three-point line and allowing Amaré Stoudemire (41 points) to score. The Spurs further limited Phoenix's versatility by putting Bruce Bowen on Marion, who had three points.
San Antonio hit more threes (10 for 23) than Phoenix (6 for 15) and Marion had his worst game since a six-point effort in December - against the Spurs.
Escaping Dallas with missing parts was one thing, but the Suns - with Joe Johnson out and Marion and Quentin Richardson quiet - face more of a grind against San Antonio.
"We ain't going anywhere, though. Believe that," Richardson said.
Phoenix really missed Johnson in the fourth quarter, when he could have bridged Nash's rest time and defended at least one of Brent Barry's three three-pointers - or some of the 24 points in the paint. Duncan demanded the post attention that led to Barry's threes.
The fourth-quarter woes stemmed from the close of the third, when Phoenix again did not finish a quarter strongly.
San Antonio ended the first quarter on an 18-6 run and the second on an 11-6 run. Just when Phoenix had a late 8-0 spurt in the third, San Antonio stole momentum with the quarter's final four points.
Phoenix can't live without Steve Nash, who left the game for the final 48.6 seconds of the third. Suns coach Mike D'Antoni called Nash's name 53 seconds into the fourth, with Phoenix already having lost its lead. Nash's return did not help the defense.
"Defense wins championships and that's what we've got to do, myself included," Stoudemire said.
San Antonio missed six shots in the fourth and rebounded four of them. The Spurs were stopped on only four fourth-quarter possessions. The arena was half-empty by the buzzer.
"We kind of let fatigue affect us mentally," Nash said. "I think we lost our concentration. I think we lost our fight just for enough stretches to lose the game."
Even as San Antonio trapped him more, Nash was stellar with 29 points and 13 assists. It was his sixth straight game with more than 20 shots after not doing that all season. It was also his sixth straight game with more than 20 points.
One of Nash's MVP predecessors, Duncan, answered every change in defenders and every double team with brilliance that disrupted Phoenix's defense. The Suns went more frequently with Stoudemire and Steven Hunter together for defense, regardless of the big lineup's ramifications on the offense. They played 18 minutes together in the final three quarters.
"Not a game we expected, but one we will take," Duncan said.
The Arizona Republic
May. 23, 2005 12:00 AM
They were unfazed by an eight-point hole in the third quarter. They destroyed their opponent with three-pointers. They put the ball through the net as if it were a pizza parlor's pop-a-shot machine.
They played like the Suns and champions all in one.
They are the San Antonio Spurs, who turned as pesky as termites in the Suns' house Sunday. San Antonio knocked down four three-pointers in a 43-point, fourth-quarter deluge that gave the Spurs a 121-114 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. advertisement
Quickly, the clouds rolled in on the Suns' bright playoff roll. Since 1990, 27 of the 30 teams that have won Game 1 of the conference finals have gone on to win the series.
Phoenix's Jim Jackson already called Game 2 Tuesday at America West Arena a must win, and Spurs star Tim Duncan isn't satisfied.
"We would love to go out there and get this second one and really put them on their heels," said Duncan, who played on a tender ankle but delivered a 28-point, 15-rebound performance.
To even the series, Phoenix must find the missing energy, most notably from Shawn Marion, and effort, most notably on defense. The Suns learned Sunday that San Antonio, which led the league in scoring defense and was second in defensive field-goal percentage, could handle up-tempo games into the 100s.
"We're willing to be the chameleon," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We usually change according to what other people do. We don't try to impose our will too much."
Phoenix forced its offensive will but not its desire to run. The Suns scored only six fast-break points and were missing the three-point punch off their secondary break - if a layup is not there, the Suns are adept at finding an open three-point shooter.
San Antonio, 3-0 this season with a full team playing Phoenix, stuck to its regular-season plan of denying the three-point line and allowing Amaré Stoudemire (41 points) to score. The Spurs further limited Phoenix's versatility by putting Bruce Bowen on Marion, who had three points.
San Antonio hit more threes (10 for 23) than Phoenix (6 for 15) and Marion had his worst game since a six-point effort in December - against the Spurs.
Escaping Dallas with missing parts was one thing, but the Suns - with Joe Johnson out and Marion and Quentin Richardson quiet - face more of a grind against San Antonio.
"We ain't going anywhere, though. Believe that," Richardson said.
Phoenix really missed Johnson in the fourth quarter, when he could have bridged Nash's rest time and defended at least one of Brent Barry's three three-pointers - or some of the 24 points in the paint. Duncan demanded the post attention that led to Barry's threes.
The fourth-quarter woes stemmed from the close of the third, when Phoenix again did not finish a quarter strongly.
San Antonio ended the first quarter on an 18-6 run and the second on an 11-6 run. Just when Phoenix had a late 8-0 spurt in the third, San Antonio stole momentum with the quarter's final four points.
Phoenix can't live without Steve Nash, who left the game for the final 48.6 seconds of the third. Suns coach Mike D'Antoni called Nash's name 53 seconds into the fourth, with Phoenix already having lost its lead. Nash's return did not help the defense.
"Defense wins championships and that's what we've got to do, myself included," Stoudemire said.
San Antonio missed six shots in the fourth and rebounded four of them. The Spurs were stopped on only four fourth-quarter possessions. The arena was half-empty by the buzzer.
"We kind of let fatigue affect us mentally," Nash said. "I think we lost our concentration. I think we lost our fight just for enough stretches to lose the game."
Even as San Antonio trapped him more, Nash was stellar with 29 points and 13 assists. It was his sixth straight game with more than 20 shots after not doing that all season. It was also his sixth straight game with more than 20 points.
One of Nash's MVP predecessors, Duncan, answered every change in defenders and every double team with brilliance that disrupted Phoenix's defense. The Suns went more frequently with Stoudemire and Steven Hunter together for defense, regardless of the big lineup's ramifications on the offense. They played 18 minutes together in the final three quarters.
"Not a game we expected, but one we will take," Duncan said.