Suns' offense comes alive, zips past sluggish Trail Blazers

[CubanMustGo]

Jared Dudley scores 18 points, Steve Nash adds 17 in 102-77 rout of Portland

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns...l-blazers.html

Off the court, out the tunnel around the corridor and into the locker room. Nash had never put on his uniform under his warm-ups while waiting for equipment manager Jay Gaspar to deliver his chest protector, or "uni-bra" as he called it.

Nash sprinted and changed quicker than a runway model and the Suns kept that pace for the game, using Nash's near-perfect game to recapture its desired tempo and make another stellar defensive effort stand up for a 102-77 pounding of Portland at US Airways Center.

The Trail Blazers (5-2) entered the games as the West's top team, but also a tired one after beating the Los Angeles Lakers at home Thursday night and checking into their Phoenix hotel at 4 a.m.

Regardless, holding the Blazers' previously third-ranked offense to 32.9 percent shooting was the best effort of the season, considering the season opponent-low of 28.9 percent was by a lesser New Orleans team missing Eric Gordon.

"We knew they were on a back-to-back and we wanted to push the tempo," said Suns guard Jared Dudley, who followed a 4-for-13 shooting game Wednesday night with 18 points Friday night. "I'm glad we got to them early."

The Suns hit 11 of their first 13 shots (Channing Frye missed two 3-pointers) for a 26-14 lead in the game's first eight minutes. Nash accounted for 19 of the 26 points with nine points and five assists, four of which set up layups.

Nash took the fourth quarter off and still finished with 17 points and nine assists. He made all seven shots, his best career shooting game except for two 8-for-8 games last season. The rib bruise issue has moved behind him.
"We had a better rhythm," Nash said. "The tempo of the game suited us more. We had a little bit more of a flow to it that was familiar to past teams. That allowed us to find comfort and we made more shots probably as a results but also probably because we were just due to make some shots."

Nash acknowledged that it was "a good scheduling game" for the Suns (3-4) but it still has been encouraging for Phoenix to set season bests for shooting in three consecutive games.

They made 46.8 percent of their shots Friday night against Portland (5-2), which spent much of the game shooting less than 30 percent with one starter (LaMarcus Aldridge) scoring in double figures. Gerald Wallace scored 31 points Thursday against the Lakers and one point Friday against the Suns.

"We just looked like we had heavy legs," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "(The Suns) were faster throughout the night. They did a good job of bodying us on cuts and making us work to get in our sets. It just seemed like we were running in quicksand all night."

The Suns' hot start gave them a lead at the end of the first quarter for the first time this season but the hot start did not last. They had a 4-for-20 shooting stretch, including missing 13 of 15 shots while Nash was replaced by Ronnie Price. These Suns can survive those stretches better because the Suns deny dribble penetration better than last season.
Despite the slump, the Suns maintained a 13-point lead until Nash returned and took a 49-34 lead to halftime.

The Suns sluggishly opened the second half but again survived with defense, something Grant Hill even as his offensive struggles continued by missing his last five shots.

The Suns stretched the lead to as much as 27 with three reserves in double digits - Shannon Brown (14 points), Markieff Morris (13 points, nine rebounds) and Hakim Warrick (12 points). Center Robin Lopez led the team with 12 rebounds but fouled out in 18 minutes.

"I told the guys this is kind of a gauge as to where we are and where we need to be because these guys are playing at a real high level," Gentry said. "I thought we responded and did a good job and I thought we played for the whole 48 minutes."

[Pelicans78]

I see what you did there.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

The Suns' random focus on defense this year is why they're 3-4 and not 1-6. Idk why they waited to start emphasizing defense once the roster was complete trash.

[tlongII]

Non-issue.

[Jodelo]

Non-threads.