Phoenix (50-15) at Denver (32-31)

[ducks]

Phoenix (50-15) at Denver (32-31)

Game Info: 10:00 pm EDT Sat Mar 17, 2007
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By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA, STATS Senior Writer

The Phoenix Suns had mixed results against the NBA's conference leaders. Their play against the Denver Nuggets, however, has been fairly consistent in recent years.

After a letdown that followed perhaps their biggest win of the season, the Suns look to continue their recent success against the Nuggets when the teams meet on Saturday night.

Phoenix (50-15) had a six-game winning streak snapped Friday night, losing 105-83 to Eastern Conference-leading Detroit. That came two nights after a thrilling double-overtime victory over Western Conference-leading Dallas.

"It's just too bad that we kind of gave back what we won on Wednesday," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "That's too bad, but it happens. We'll see what kind of moxie we have and we'll come back tomorrow."

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It was the first time Phoenix - which leads the NBA with 110.2 points per game - was held below 90 since a 109-89 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on April 16.

The Suns are now 3 1/2 games behind the Mavericks in the race for the best record in the league. Dallas is idle Saturday.

Friday's loss was by far the most one-sided at home for Phoenix and its second-worst overall this season. The Suns' worst loss was 114-90 at Seattle on Feb. 14.

Phoenix will try to bounce back against Denver (32-31) -- a team it's 8-1 against since Dec. 20, 2004, averaging 115.4 points.

Amare Stoudemire had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Suns on Friday, and two-time reigning MVP Steve Nash added 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Nash, the NBA assists leader at 11.5 per game, had one in the first half and finished with only six.

Stoudemire had 36 points and 13 rebounds to lead Phoenix to a 113-108 win at Denver on Feb. 5 in the teams' first meeting. The Nuggets, though, were without the injured Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby.

Denver has won three straight overall, averaging 111.0 points per game while holding opponents to 95.3. The Nuggets shot 53.9 percent from the field in a 113-86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

Linas Kleiza came off the bench to score a career-high 29 and Carmelo Anthony had 26 for the Nuggets. Kleiza reached 20 points for the first time in his career four days earlier, scoring 24 in a win at Sacramento.

"That's great when you've got a guy coming off the bench contributing the way he has," Iverson said of the second-year swingman. "He never cares about starting or anything like that. When his opportunity comes, he's just always ready."

Kleiza made 10-of-13 shots against the Lakers, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. He has made 59.0 percent (13-for-22) of his 3-pointers in his last four games.

"I didn't know who he was when I got here," Iverson said. "I think a lot of people around the world know who he is now."

Although the Suns perennially are one of the league's worst defensive teams -- they have allowed 100.1 points per game since 2002-03 -- they're the only team Iverson is averaging less than 20 points against.

Iverson has scored 19.9 points per game and is shooting 32.5 percent from the field, his worst average against any team, in 14 games versus Phoenix.


Updated on Saturday, Mar 17, 2007 2:34 am EDT

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Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
Phoenix 50-15 1st Pacific / 2nd West 110.2 102.8 Road 24-8 Lost 1 8-2
Denver 32-31 2nd Northwest / 7th West 104.8 103.5 Home 18-17 Won 3 6-4

Phoenix Notes
Mar 15 The Suns have won nine of their last 13 games vs. Dallas but trail them 1-2 this season. Last season, they split the series 2-2 in the regular season and Dallas beat Phoenix, 4-2, in the Western Conference finals last season. ... Phoenix snapped Dallas' 23-game franchise-record home winning streak. Last season, the Suns ended a 16-game home winning streak, which was then Dallas' franchise record.
st 03-15-07 3:18 et

Denver Notes
Mar 16 The Nuggets won consecutive home games for the first time since January 19 and 22. ... Denver improved to 21-3 this season when scoring 110 or more points. ... The Nuggets' victory on Thursday night against the Lakers was the first against a team above .500 since winning at Indiana on February 9. It also is their first win against a team that is currently over .500 since beating the Rockets in Houston on January 20. ... Denver has won five of its last seven games against the Lakers at the Pepsi Center. ... The Nuggets shot a season-best 10-of-15 from the arc in Thursday night's win against the Lakers.

[Xylus]

Yay...go Suns...

Can't seem to muster up much enthusiasm after last night's humiliation.

[mikejones99]

Detroit is good and wanted revenge. Denver is improving alot. PHX gonna be 2 seed no matter what the hell happens.

[dallaskd]

Ai will drop 43, Nuggs by 3.

[monosylab1k]

Nothing would take away the sting of Wednesday night better than a Suns losing streak.

[Nashfan]

Yay...go Suns...

Can't seem to muster up much enthusiasm after last night's humiliation.


Yeah, I hear ya Xylus and feel your pain also. :depressed

[Amarelooms]

If there is a God then the Suns will lose...guess we'll know by tonight....

[sribb43]

This will be an entertaining game, cant wait to watch. hoping for a repeat of last years 3OT game I believe it was. This should be the first time all of Denvers players are healthy to face the suns this season

[Phil Hellmuth]

denver is killen phoenix

[RonMexico]

This sucks my herpes-plagued balls.

[Amarelooms]

denver is killen phoenix

Proof that a God does exist...who would have thought it

[ponky]

:lol :lol :lol i love this night...i woke up (around 8 pm) feeling ill and now i'm better

[Amarelooms]

:lol :lol :lol i love this night...i woke up (around 8 pm) feeling ill and now i'm better

What are you wearing? :elephant

[ponky]

What are you wearing? :elephant

tsk tsk tsk

[Vinnie_Johnson]

Suns will win this going away.



opps just saw the score. :donkey

[ponky]

wow, i can't believe what i'm seeing with this lead just growing bigger and bigger...nuggets up by 38 points at the end of three...and the most impressive thing about the nuggets tonight, IMO? AI with THIRTEEN assists along with very decent no-ballhog shooting at 13-17

41 third quarter points?!?!?!?!

[loveThe23]

what's wrong with the suns? :depressed looks like beating Dallas kicked them hard in the a**.... dang, I just can't stand A.I. and wouldn't mind not seeing him in the playoffs.

[schadenfreude52]

oh wow...
that is some severe whoopage.

what's with all these powerhouses losing at the same time?

[ponky]

the hell is wrong with d'antoni? rest the guys already, you are not going to come back from this deficit, what a moron. why play piatkowski and some of the rest of the bench some minutes and then throw whatever rest the suns starters could have in the garbage by refusing to take them out of the game?

[resistanze]

I wish I could see AI go ballistic.

[sandeepgm]

D'antoni is a little bit of a stat whore i think. Playing all his starters even now. Looks like he will rest them after nash getting his double double and amare his...

[Shank]

Phoenix is a fucking joke. It's games like this that makes it even more evident.

[Vinnie_Johnson]

Suns look done I thought they looked bad last night.

[dallaskd]

the suns need to wake up after their big win.

[dirk4mvp]

what's wrong with the suns? :depressed looks like beating Dallas kicked them hard in the a**.... dang, I just can't stand A.I. and wouldn't mind not seeing him in the playoffs.


I'm pretty sure the Kings won't see the Nuggets in the playoffs.

[JMarkJohns]

Hard to justify a position of the Suns being one of the best teams and ready for a deep playoff run when, after one game of playoff intensity, they are getting trounced by two teams they really shouldn't be getting trounced by. No disrespect to Detroit, but hey should have played much closer, with the game being at home and all and no disrespect to Denver, but they really aren't as good as team as Phoenix.

For whatever reason, Phoenix doesn't mind one bit right now that teams are just waxing them. Maybe it's fatigue, maybe complacency... whatever it is, D'Antoni playing the starters for the fourth quarter in a 30-point blowout on the second night of a home-to-road back-to-back won't fix it.

That was just lame brained...

[sribb43]

Ai will drop 43, Nuggs by 3.

Close AI with 44 but Nuggets by 24

[ducks]

nuggets put up 37 points in the first
40 in another quarter


and who in the hell tried to guard ai?

[ducks]

ai had 15 assist and 44 points

[loveThe23]

I'm pretty sure the Kings won't see the Nuggets in the playoffs.

So am I. don't rub it in, it can't get any worse. :depressed

[Nashfan]

Hard to justify a position of the Suns being one of the best teams and ready for a deep playoff run when, after one game of playoff intensity, they are getting trounced by two teams they really shouldn't be getting trounced by. No disrespect to Detroit, but hey should have played much closer, with the game being at home and all and no disrespect to Denver, but they really aren't as good as team as Phoenix.

For whatever reason, Phoenix doesn't mind one bit right now that teams are just waxing them. Maybe it's fatigue, maybe complacency... whatever it is, D'Antoni playing the starters for the fourth quarter in a 30-point blowout on the second night of a home-to-road back-to-back won't fix it.

That was just lame brained...

Agree with everything you just wrote. :depressed

[Rip-Hamilton32]

and i thought we beat them down

[Flopper]

my my...what a turn out the game was.

[Findog]

Wait a second! Phoenix is the best team in the history of basketball. How does Steve Nash end up getting owned by Flip Murray and AI? Somebody put out an alert for the national media, I guess we won't be treated to the handwringing and kneejerking that accompanies every Dallas loss.

[mavsfan1000]

Wait a second! Phoenix is the best team in the history of basketball. How does Steve Nash end up getting owned by Flip Murray and AI? Somebody put out an alert for the national media, I guess we won't be treated to the handwringing and kneejerking that accompanies every Dallas loss.
It's called fatigue. Dallas took them to double overtime so they were spent the last 2 games. They'll need some time off to regroup. I guess that shot to get to a second overtime helped Dallas in the long run as they had an easier opponent than Phoenix had the following game plus they didn't have a back to back.

[dirk4mvp]

So am I. don't rub it in, it can't get any worse. :depressed


wtf, you should want it to get worse...

ODEN! ODEN! ODEN!

[RonMexico]

It's called fatigue. Dallas took them to double overtime so they were spent the last 2 games. They'll need some time off to regroup. I guess that shot to get to a second overtime helped Dallas in the long run as they had an easier opponent than Phoenix had the following game plus they didn't have a back to back.

Yeah, that's a good take.

I'm still pissed though - at the very least, I wanted the Houston, Dallas, Detroit 3-0 week... then they could have laid this egg against Denver.

[loveThe23]

wtf, you should want it to get worse...

ODEN! ODEN! ODEN!

well yeah, we were going on a 4-game losing streak but they ruined it last night. so much for Oden or Durant. :bang

[Findog]

It's called fatigue. Dallas took them to double overtime so they were spent the last 2 games. They'll need some time off to regroup. I guess that shot to get to a second overtime helped Dallas in the long run as they had an easier opponent than Phoenix had the following game plus they didn't have a back to back.

Well this bodes well for a potential meeting in the playoffs. Our hangover lasted until halftime against Boston. Theirs is still ongoing.

[JMarkJohns]

Well this bodes well for a potential meeting in the playoffs. Our hangover lasted until halftime against Boston. Theirs is still ongoing.

In the playoffs, the teams within the series get the same amount of rest and travel the same distances.

As Mavsfan mentioned, yes, both the Suns and Mavs played Friday, Phoenix flew from Dallas to Phoenix to face the Pistons, Dallas from Dallas to Boston to play the Celtics. I believe the opponant should factor in to why one lost and the other won. Then, Phoenix had to fly to Denver to play the Nuggets, a tough game for most anyone, let alone for a team that still suffering from exhaustion because not only are they going to play at a blistering pace, they will do so in much thinner air.

It's certainly logical to see why the Suns have collapsed the way they have since Wednesday, I just hate to give them an out.

[Findog]

In the playoffs, the teams within the series get the same amount of rest and travel the same distances.

I'm aware of that. When people talk about depth and fatigue in regards to Phoenix, it's that D'Antoni has never bothered to use an 8 man rotation, a true 8 man rotation and he goes all out trying to win regular season games. Now, obviously, it's important to finish as best as you can because the higher the seed, the easier you make it for yourselves. But he burns the midnight oil in order to do it.

Nash is getting a career-high 35 minutes a night at the age of 33, with a history of being prone to fatigue the deeper into the playoffs his teams go. There are only 8 guys that get significant minutes for the Suns, as opposed to 10 for Dallas. That's an advantage for us in a potential playoff meeting as far as injuries, fatigue and foul trouble goes. Avery simply has a more versatile roster and more weapons at his disposal. D'Antoni has 6 guys who can score. He only has two guys that can defend.

And while it's a little unfair to say that Phoenix's style "doesn't work in the playoffs," considering they've been to the conference finals two years in a row and as an elite team they're not terrible on defense, just merely mediocre, it's also true that they haven't been able to run as much as they would like in the playoffs, because teams like Dallas and San Antonio are both capable of running with you and are also adept at forcing you to play at a slower, more physical, half-court pace. And as a lot of Suns partisans like to point out, it's not running the floor all night that wears you out, it's other teams turning it into a tough, grind it out kind of game that induces fatigue. Dallas, San Antonio and Detroit are three teams capable of doing that to Phoenix. You beat the Suns by milking the shot clock when you have the ball and pounding them inside and getting their bigs into foul trouble, getting back in transition and forcing them to operate out of the halfcourt so they have to work for their shot opportunities instead of scoring endlessly off a fast-break layup line, and hope that their shots aren't falling like they normally do. For most teams, that's easier said than done, but the three elite teams I mentioned can force the issue with the Suns and are the only teams capable of beating them in a seven game series.

[JMarkJohns]

I'll agree. I hate to think that a contending team can reach a season low the first few games after their season's high.

[Findog]

I'll agree. I hate to think that a contending team can reach a season low the first few games after their season's high.


I think the team around Nash is young, raw and immature, although extremely talented. Marion is a guy whose ego needs to constantly be massaged and is extremely sensitive to being overlooked and not hyped up. Amare dogged it in rehab last year and only plays on one end of the court. He's a freakish talent and his ceiling is through the roof, and he DOES seem to have learned how to play basketball and create for himself better when Nash is out. But I think he's still learning about the kind of day to day commitment it takes to be consistently great in this league like a Duncan, or a Kobe. Bell is a guy who can let his competitive instincts get the best of him. On the positive side, I think Diaw and Barbosa are really coming into their own, LB especially. I wonder if Phoenix is going to make the salary commitment to keeping the team together after this year when Diaw and Barbosa's extensions kick in. They've already maxed out Nash, Marion and Amare. I wouldn't be surprised if they jettisoned Marion in a cost-cutting measure if they win it all this year.

[JMarkJohns]

Diaw has stunk this entire season. He entered fat and lazy, got into shape, but remained lazy, became energetic, got injured, became out of shape and is now lazy again.

If he doesn't prove his worth this summer, he'll be traded before next year is over.

[ponky]

Diaw has stunk this entire season. He entered fat and lazy, got into shape, but remained lazy, became energetic, got injured, became out of shape and is now lazy again.

If he doesn't prove his worth this summer, he'll be traded before next year is over.

just out of curiosity, he wasn't that great with the hawks, why do you think the suns picked him up in the trade for johnson? i know johnson wanted out but was the trade on the suns' end more about diaw or the first round draft picks and the exception? he just doesn't seem to have evolved much and this year he's been stagnant in his growth

[Findog]

Diaw has stunk this entire season. He entered fat and lazy, got into shape, but remained lazy, became energetic, got injured, became out of shape and is now lazy again.

If he doesn't prove his worth this summer, he'll be traded before next year is over.

I wonder if Diaw feels left out because a lot of Amare's touches are coming from out of his pocket. Marion's only 29 as of May, so he's definitely got 3-4 years of his prime left. If the Suns can get a guy like Noah in the draft, then they should be clamoring to get rid of Diaw. They can use his salary on something else and get Noah to fulfill his role at the rookie rate for the next three years. Suns have made some questionable personnel decisions, like the Banks signing, and so forth. They don't have a lot of financial flexibility and Nash isn't getting younger. They're going to have to start planning for a post-Nash team, or at least a post-Nash max deal team.

[JMarkJohns]

He shouldn't be playing alongside Amare. He should be coming off the bench to be the replacement Amare when Amare's out for rest or foul trouble. Their games are too similar: Decent, but iffy jumper, good off the dribble in a "roll" action. Solid finisher around the basket. Only difference is Amare looks for the contact, Diaw, if he sees it coming, makes the extra pass.

Still, they don't seem to play well alongside each other.

Of course Amare's return has had an impact on his production, but going several games with fewer than two rebounds (has happened over a half dozen times), coming into camp fat and out of shape, remaining a bit lazy early on and then returning from injury with similar attitude, being passive to a fault when in the game and unemotional, in not apathetic when out, that's all on Diaw.

As for why Phoenix wanted him, I believe they wanted some inexpensive potential. He supplied it last season and this. He had some skills they deemed acceptable for their style and had the size they coveted.

I still wish they had JJ.

[mabber]

Hard to justify a position of the Suns being one of the best teams and ready for a deep playoff run when, after one game of playoff intensity, they are getting trounced by two teams they really shouldn't be getting trounced by. No disrespect to Detroit, but hey should have played much closer, with the game being at home and all and no disrespect to Denver, but they really aren't as good as team as Phoenix.

For whatever reason, Phoenix doesn't mind one bit right now that teams are just waxing them. Maybe it's fatigue, maybe complacency... whatever it is, D'Antoni playing the starters for the fourth quarter in a 30-point blowout on the second night of a home-to-road back-to-back won't fix it.

That was just lame brained...

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Not sure what you were thinking but I don't think there was a chance in hell that the Suns were going to catch the Mavs for the #1 seed (even after getting within 3 games in loss column after beating Mavs). The Suns will regroup and be fine come playoff time. As long as Amare is playing well they have a decent chance. I was up every close at the Suns/Mavs game and was very impressed with Amare.

[JMarkJohns]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Not sure what you were thinking but I don't think there was a chance in hell that the Suns were going to catch the Mavs for the #1 seed (even after getting within 3 games in loss column after beating Mavs). The Suns will regroup and be fine come playoff time. As long as Amare is playing well they have a decent chance. I was up every close at the Suns/Mavs game and was very impressed with Amare.

Wasn't thinking they'd overtake, no, but I would have liked to see them respond with stronger showings following their "statement" game. I've talked of it in this thread, that in the playoffs the schedule and travel is balanced, but still, this recent play really shows how thin they are, and how unable to bounce back with an spring in their step from an exhaustive effort.

That worries me. I just saw a complete collapse from my favorite college team, Arizona, because early in the season they ran a six-man rotation with the starters playing 35+ minutes each. Eventually, they had nothing left, so asking for fight or gumption became rather pointless.

[RonMexico]

Wasn't thinking they'd overtake, no, but I would have liked to see them respond with stronger showings following their "statement" game. I've talked of it in this thread, that in the playoffs the schedule and travel is balanced, but still, this recent play really shows how thin they are, and how unable to bounce back with an spring in their step from an exhaustive effort.

That worries me. I just saw a complete collapse from my favorite college team, Arizona, because early in the season they ran a six-man rotation with the starters playing 35+ minutes each. Eventually, they had nothing left, so asking for fight or gumption became rather pointless.

JMark, I certainly hope the Suns don't smoke as much weed as a team that includes Chase Budinger, Marcus Williams, Mustafa Shakur, Jawann McClellan, Daniel Dillon (Australian), and Miles Simon as an assistant coach. With such easy access to the Mexican border, it's no wonder they started losing steam and energy by the end of the year.

Although, I might have worries about Jalen Rose (why not? he's never gonna play), Steve Nash (Canadian), and Shawn Marion (looks like he's perma-high, especially in interviews), and Kurt Thomas (how else can he be so mellow?)...

[mabber]

JMark, I certainly hope the Suns don't smoke as much weed as a team that includes Chase Budinger, Marcus Williams, Mustafa Shakur, Jawann McClellan, Daniel Dillon (Australian), and Miles Simon as an assistant coach. With such easy access to the Mexican border, it's no wonder they started losing steam and energy by the end of the year.

Although, I might have worries about Jalen Rose (why not? he's never gonna play), Steve Nash (Canadian), and Shawn Marion (looks like he's perma-high, especially in interviews), and Kurt Thomas (how else can he be so mellow?)...

I guarantee you Dirk gets high (maybe not much during the season but definitely in the offseason). I've heard many local stories about people seeing he and Nash out and around town looking stoned. :smokin

[TonyParkerSux]

from what I understand, about 90% of NBA players do get stoned.

[RonMexico]

from what I understand, about 90% of NBA players do get stoned.

No, no, no... it's that NBA players smoke about 75% of the weed consumed in America... and Lamar Odom smokes 90% of the total amount of weed in the NBA...

[TonyParkerSux]

No, no, no... it's that NBA players smoke about 75% of the weed consumed in America... and Lamar Odom smokes 90% of the total amount of weed in the NBA...


:lol lol. I don't doubt the validity of any of those stats to be honest.... :smokin