Kori Ellis
05-25-2005, 01:51 AM
Marion, Suns bemoan opportunities gone awry
Web Posted: 05/25/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Mike Finger
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA052505.2S.BKNsuns.marion.2a97150ac.html
PHOENIX — The blood-caked cut covered the left half of Shawn Marion's lower lip, which was already swelling faster than the Spurs' confidence after Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at America West Arena on Tuesday.
"Busted," Marion said. "It looks bad, don't it?"
After a 111-108 loss that put Phoenix in a 2-0 deficit in its series with the Spurs, Marion wasn't the only one in the Suns locker room pondering such a question.
The difference is that Marion's lip is almost certain to look better by the weekend. Phoenix's suddenly bloodied hopes of a trip to the NBA Finals, meanwhile, don't have any such guarantee of a recovery.
Phoenix, which finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA and never trailed in either of its first two playoff series, now finds itself in a situation where it needs to win twice at the SBC Center to get past the Spurs.
And Tuesday night, it was difficult for the Suns to accept the fact that they shot 50 percent combined in two games on their home floor and still managed to lose twice.
"It's really demoralizing," said Marion, who bounced back from a three-point effort in Game 1 to get 11 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday. "We were playing so hard, and to see us not capitalize on some of the situations we had, it sucks."
Just about all of the Suns had their own little reasons to be regretful. After playing solid defense for much of the game — especially in the second quarter — Phoenix allowed the Spurs to mount another fourth-quarter comeback.
Then, after a Robert Horry 3-pointer put the Spurs ahead with 2:31 left, Steve Nash couldn't get a 14-footer to fall. Amare Stoudemire clanged a lay-up. Quentin Richardson misfired on a 3-pointer.
All three of those players had hit huge shots earlier in the game. But afterwards, all they could think about were the ones that didn't go in.
"I should have dunked it," Stoudemire said of his miss. "I'll keep that in the back of my mind next time and throw it in."
Even so, Nash still had an opportunity to send the game into overtime at the buzzer, even if he didn't have a clean look at the basket.
With the Suns trailing by three points, they inbounded the ball under their own basket with 4.2 seconds left. Nash raced up the right side of the floor, squeezed between a couple of defenders and launched a high-arcing 3-point attempt that bounced off the front of the basket.
"I had a few seconds to get up the court, and there was some congestion," said Nash, who finished with 29 points and 15 assists. "I didn't have much room so I just had to get something up on the rim and see if it would go in."
When it didn't, several Suns admitted it was a difficult loss to endure. But not one they can't bounce back from.
"They still have to beat us two more times," Marion said. "And it wasn't no cakewalk in either game."
Web Posted: 05/25/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Mike Finger
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA052505.2S.BKNsuns.marion.2a97150ac.html
PHOENIX — The blood-caked cut covered the left half of Shawn Marion's lower lip, which was already swelling faster than the Spurs' confidence after Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at America West Arena on Tuesday.
"Busted," Marion said. "It looks bad, don't it?"
After a 111-108 loss that put Phoenix in a 2-0 deficit in its series with the Spurs, Marion wasn't the only one in the Suns locker room pondering such a question.
The difference is that Marion's lip is almost certain to look better by the weekend. Phoenix's suddenly bloodied hopes of a trip to the NBA Finals, meanwhile, don't have any such guarantee of a recovery.
Phoenix, which finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA and never trailed in either of its first two playoff series, now finds itself in a situation where it needs to win twice at the SBC Center to get past the Spurs.
And Tuesday night, it was difficult for the Suns to accept the fact that they shot 50 percent combined in two games on their home floor and still managed to lose twice.
"It's really demoralizing," said Marion, who bounced back from a three-point effort in Game 1 to get 11 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday. "We were playing so hard, and to see us not capitalize on some of the situations we had, it sucks."
Just about all of the Suns had their own little reasons to be regretful. After playing solid defense for much of the game — especially in the second quarter — Phoenix allowed the Spurs to mount another fourth-quarter comeback.
Then, after a Robert Horry 3-pointer put the Spurs ahead with 2:31 left, Steve Nash couldn't get a 14-footer to fall. Amare Stoudemire clanged a lay-up. Quentin Richardson misfired on a 3-pointer.
All three of those players had hit huge shots earlier in the game. But afterwards, all they could think about were the ones that didn't go in.
"I should have dunked it," Stoudemire said of his miss. "I'll keep that in the back of my mind next time and throw it in."
Even so, Nash still had an opportunity to send the game into overtime at the buzzer, even if he didn't have a clean look at the basket.
With the Suns trailing by three points, they inbounded the ball under their own basket with 4.2 seconds left. Nash raced up the right side of the floor, squeezed between a couple of defenders and launched a high-arcing 3-point attempt that bounced off the front of the basket.
"I had a few seconds to get up the court, and there was some congestion," said Nash, who finished with 29 points and 15 assists. "I didn't have much room so I just had to get something up on the rim and see if it would go in."
When it didn't, several Suns admitted it was a difficult loss to endure. But not one they can't bounce back from.
"They still have to beat us two more times," Marion said. "And it wasn't no cakewalk in either game."