Kent_in_Atlanta
05-19-2007, 10:10 AM
Tony Meja - CBS Sportsline.com:
Suns can complain, but Spurs were just plain better
SAN ANTONIO -- The 3-pointers came from every direction.
Bruce Bowen, parked on the right corner like a stalled Buick, dropped in a couple. Manu Ginobili, displaying more fire than he's shown all year, added two more. A one-point, third-quarter deficit turned into a 14-point lead in a matter of minutes, and the team known for its ability to score had no answer.
"We fell asleep," Steve Nash said.
Try blaming that on this week's suspensions.
In the end, even with Amare Stoudemire making up for lost time with 38 points, San Antonio advanced past Phoenix 114-106 because Tim Duncan was a better distributor than Nash. A human vacuum, Duncan sucked in the Suns defense and then picked them apart. The shots were easy, and often wide open.
For the Suns, nothing came easy. Nash had the tireless Bruce Bowen in his mug the entire night, and whenever he did shake loose to get someone the basketball, Duncan was usually there to make life difficult, setting a San Antonio record for blocks with nine.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich refers to him as the "base, the core of everything we do," and in a Game 6 that the Spurs needed to win to avoid elimination, Duncan was brilliant.
Nash couldn't get anything going until the fourth quarter, and by then it was too late. If he had it to do over again, maybe he'd be more aggressive in looking for his own shot. In the end, the two-time MVP understands that, good or bad, everything falls on his shoulders.
That includes blame.
"Steve got out of sorts for a little while," Mike D'Antoni said, "but you can't be Superman every night."
In this setting, Phoenix couldn't afford him not to be.
Nash made all six of his fourth-quarter shots, cutting what had grown to a 20-point lead down to five in the final minute, but there's no excuse for him taking just four attempts the first three quarters. He took what the Spurs gave him, and he had to know that wasn't going to be much.
Following the loss Nash was despondent, in no mood to talk about next year and missed opportunities, still stung by the suspensions that turned this series around. He again called the NBA's ruling ridiculous.
"I can sit up here and complain after the fact and cry about it, but it's tough not to think forever what might have happened if this stupid rule hadn't gotten in the way."
You could see the pain in his eyes. He's sad. Nash felt something was unfairly taken away from him. Two somethings, actually.
But both Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were in uniform for Game 6 -- and a similar result ensued. This is a tough pill for Phoenix to swallow, especially with the window of opportunity closing. Nash isn't getting any younger, and the toll of having to be the facilitator of the NBA highest-scoring attack figures to impact his shelf life. Shawn Marion's name always comes up in rumors, and you can expect those to intensify in the coming weeks.
Yes, Phoenix got screwed by a bad break, one that Stoudemire and Diaw brought upon themselves.
However, if the Suns are going to be haunted by that turn of events forever, they also have to look in the mirror and admit they didn't do what was necessary to generate the result that could've eased that injustice. Nash wasn't Superman. Leandro Barbosa had an off-night shooting the ball. Diaw scored a single point.
That's not going to cut it when you're trying to break through. Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker combined for 87 points. Bowen's defense was game-changing. The rest of San Antonio's role players did what they do.
"We understand the importance of finishing teams when we have a chance," said Duncan.
That was ultimately the difference.
Suns can complain, but Spurs were just plain better
SAN ANTONIO -- The 3-pointers came from every direction.
Bruce Bowen, parked on the right corner like a stalled Buick, dropped in a couple. Manu Ginobili, displaying more fire than he's shown all year, added two more. A one-point, third-quarter deficit turned into a 14-point lead in a matter of minutes, and the team known for its ability to score had no answer.
"We fell asleep," Steve Nash said.
Try blaming that on this week's suspensions.
In the end, even with Amare Stoudemire making up for lost time with 38 points, San Antonio advanced past Phoenix 114-106 because Tim Duncan was a better distributor than Nash. A human vacuum, Duncan sucked in the Suns defense and then picked them apart. The shots were easy, and often wide open.
For the Suns, nothing came easy. Nash had the tireless Bruce Bowen in his mug the entire night, and whenever he did shake loose to get someone the basketball, Duncan was usually there to make life difficult, setting a San Antonio record for blocks with nine.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich refers to him as the "base, the core of everything we do," and in a Game 6 that the Spurs needed to win to avoid elimination, Duncan was brilliant.
Nash couldn't get anything going until the fourth quarter, and by then it was too late. If he had it to do over again, maybe he'd be more aggressive in looking for his own shot. In the end, the two-time MVP understands that, good or bad, everything falls on his shoulders.
That includes blame.
"Steve got out of sorts for a little while," Mike D'Antoni said, "but you can't be Superman every night."
In this setting, Phoenix couldn't afford him not to be.
Nash made all six of his fourth-quarter shots, cutting what had grown to a 20-point lead down to five in the final minute, but there's no excuse for him taking just four attempts the first three quarters. He took what the Spurs gave him, and he had to know that wasn't going to be much.
Following the loss Nash was despondent, in no mood to talk about next year and missed opportunities, still stung by the suspensions that turned this series around. He again called the NBA's ruling ridiculous.
"I can sit up here and complain after the fact and cry about it, but it's tough not to think forever what might have happened if this stupid rule hadn't gotten in the way."
You could see the pain in his eyes. He's sad. Nash felt something was unfairly taken away from him. Two somethings, actually.
But both Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were in uniform for Game 6 -- and a similar result ensued. This is a tough pill for Phoenix to swallow, especially with the window of opportunity closing. Nash isn't getting any younger, and the toll of having to be the facilitator of the NBA highest-scoring attack figures to impact his shelf life. Shawn Marion's name always comes up in rumors, and you can expect those to intensify in the coming weeks.
Yes, Phoenix got screwed by a bad break, one that Stoudemire and Diaw brought upon themselves.
However, if the Suns are going to be haunted by that turn of events forever, they also have to look in the mirror and admit they didn't do what was necessary to generate the result that could've eased that injustice. Nash wasn't Superman. Leandro Barbosa had an off-night shooting the ball. Diaw scored a single point.
That's not going to cut it when you're trying to break through. Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker combined for 87 points. Bowen's defense was game-changing. The rest of San Antonio's role players did what they do.
"We understand the importance of finishing teams when we have a chance," said Duncan.
That was ultimately the difference.