Dex
01-16-2012, 01:29 PM
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2012/01/15/20120115phoenix-suns-loss-san-antonio-spurs.html#ixzz1jeBogUhq
Suns lose to Spurs despite Marcin Gortat's big night
Gortat tallies 25 points and 13 rebounds, but Spurs stay perfect at home with 102-91 win
by Paul Coro - Jan. 15, 2012 09:31 PM
The Arizona Republic
SAN ANTONIO - Not even two years ago, the Suns were in the AT&T Center on a Sunday enjoying one of the franchise's all-time favorite moments -- a playoff sweep of the San Antonio Spurs.
This is another season, another Sunday, another team and another kind of four-game run. With the four remaining Suns from the 2010 conference finals team starting, the Suns opened a five-game road trip Sunday night by extending their losing streak to four games with a 102-91 loss to San Antonio.
It is bad enough that the Suns are free-falling with stops in Chicago, New York, Boston and Dallas still ahead but they also had to watch the hated Spurs show why they were the only elite offense in the building.
After giving up 50 percent shooting to New Jersey in Friday's loss, the Suns (4-8) surrendered 49.4 percent shooting to San Antonio (9-4) on Sunday and fell behind by as many as 19 points during its own anemic offensive second quarter. The Suns shot 41.8 percent and posted their third 16-point second quarter of a 12-game season.
"We started really bad and I missed a lot of shots," Suns center Marcin Gortat said. "We have to come out smarter and play smarter."
The Suns remain a bottom-half NBA offense after managing only eight points in the game's first eight minutes, when Nash did not have an assist. The Suns made six of 23 shots in the second quarter. Nash's shooting had to carry the offense early as the Suns wound up trailing 56-37 at one stage when he was 6 of 10 from the field and his teammates were 10 for 35.
"We played a lot more decisively in the second half and got ourselves in a more competitive position," Nash said. "We have such little room to error. If we have a slow patch, we're down 15, 20 points."
The Suns' second unit put one final charge into trying to give San Antonio its first home defeat in nine games this season. The reserves opened the fourth-quarter strong to quickly cut San Antonio's lead to six with 8:20 to go on big efforts from Ronnie Price on a diving steal for a Shannon Brown layup and a 3-pointer.
Gortat led the Suns with 24 points and 15 rebounds while Nash finished with 20 points and 10 assists. Markieff Morris' 14 points and Brown's 10 points led the Suns bench.
Suns report
Key player: San Antonio's Tim Duncan made 10 of 14 shots for 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Key moment: The Suns went from scoring on the first quarter's final nine possessions to making one shot in the second quarter's first six minutes.
Key number: 4. Scoring and rebounding totals for Suns starting forwards Grant Hill and Channing Frye.
Just as there is a treat in watching Steve Nash's artistry with basketball geometry on passes, there is a similar unique show in viewing Tim Duncan's shooting. It has worked for 21,829 points, which pushed him past Gary Payton on Sunday for 26th on the NBA career scoring list.
Suns lose to Spurs despite Marcin Gortat's big night
Gortat tallies 25 points and 13 rebounds, but Spurs stay perfect at home with 102-91 win
by Paul Coro - Jan. 15, 2012 09:31 PM
The Arizona Republic
SAN ANTONIO - Not even two years ago, the Suns were in the AT&T Center on a Sunday enjoying one of the franchise's all-time favorite moments -- a playoff sweep of the San Antonio Spurs.
This is another season, another Sunday, another team and another kind of four-game run. With the four remaining Suns from the 2010 conference finals team starting, the Suns opened a five-game road trip Sunday night by extending their losing streak to four games with a 102-91 loss to San Antonio.
It is bad enough that the Suns are free-falling with stops in Chicago, New York, Boston and Dallas still ahead but they also had to watch the hated Spurs show why they were the only elite offense in the building.
After giving up 50 percent shooting to New Jersey in Friday's loss, the Suns (4-8) surrendered 49.4 percent shooting to San Antonio (9-4) on Sunday and fell behind by as many as 19 points during its own anemic offensive second quarter. The Suns shot 41.8 percent and posted their third 16-point second quarter of a 12-game season.
"We started really bad and I missed a lot of shots," Suns center Marcin Gortat said. "We have to come out smarter and play smarter."
The Suns remain a bottom-half NBA offense after managing only eight points in the game's first eight minutes, when Nash did not have an assist. The Suns made six of 23 shots in the second quarter. Nash's shooting had to carry the offense early as the Suns wound up trailing 56-37 at one stage when he was 6 of 10 from the field and his teammates were 10 for 35.
"We played a lot more decisively in the second half and got ourselves in a more competitive position," Nash said. "We have such little room to error. If we have a slow patch, we're down 15, 20 points."
The Suns' second unit put one final charge into trying to give San Antonio its first home defeat in nine games this season. The reserves opened the fourth-quarter strong to quickly cut San Antonio's lead to six with 8:20 to go on big efforts from Ronnie Price on a diving steal for a Shannon Brown layup and a 3-pointer.
Gortat led the Suns with 24 points and 15 rebounds while Nash finished with 20 points and 10 assists. Markieff Morris' 14 points and Brown's 10 points led the Suns bench.
Suns report
Key player: San Antonio's Tim Duncan made 10 of 14 shots for 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Key moment: The Suns went from scoring on the first quarter's final nine possessions to making one shot in the second quarter's first six minutes.
Key number: 4. Scoring and rebounding totals for Suns starting forwards Grant Hill and Channing Frye.
Just as there is a treat in watching Steve Nash's artistry with basketball geometry on passes, there is a similar unique show in viewing Tim Duncan's shooting. It has worked for 21,829 points, which pushed him past Gary Payton on Sunday for 26th on the NBA career scoring list.