suns 2 - spurs 4

The refs beat the Suns again. It was a tough match-up, but the refs pulled it out. Way to go refs! They were an awesome reffing team tonight, as well as throughout the entire series, favoring the Spurs, not calling fouls that were blatantly obvious, calling ticky-tack fouls on the Suns. The refs had the Spurs win by 8, 114 - 106. If the refs had called a good series, the Suns would have completely dominated this series, as shown by the best-called game, game 2, where the Suns won by 20. It pisses me off to think that the refs won the series. I can't believe that the NBA would allow these refs to call the kind of games that they did. Bruce Bowen was all over Nash, not in simply good defensive pressure, but by placing both hands on Nash at the same time and slapping at and hitting Nash's arms almost each time down the floor. I've never seen Nash that upset. Nash is a level headed player who respects the refs and the game, but this series has shown Nash to be infuriated at the calls and no-calls that these refs were responsible for. The Spurs, supported by their 6th man, the NBA refs, will now go on to face the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals, but it shouldn't have been. What a waste of incredible talent on pathetic refs. Congratulations, refs, you stole a good series! Suns, you had a great season. I apologize for stupid people, namely these refs ::cough::, and look forward to what you can accomplish next season, as Nash will take MVP again. Have a great summer off; I know I will (and my wife will appreciate me not yelling at the TV anymore). Still, what a crappy way to have your season ended for you by the refs.

suns 2 - spurs 3

The Suns lost this at-home battle. The Suns were up by 11 numerous times, but they let the Spurs back into the game with just a couple minutes left to play. The Suns ended up losing by 3 points after a 3-pointer by Bruce Bowen in the corner with less than a minute to go, and the Suns couldn't come back from it. The Suns could have won this game, should have won this game, but they let it go. There were two terrible suspensions that impacted this game: Stat and Diaw both were suspended for getting up off the bench after Horry body-checked Nash into the scorer's table with only a few seconds left in the game. Horry got a flagrant 2 called on him, 2 free throws and possession for the Suns, and a two game suspension, but the Suns lost two key players in a key game. Suns lost 88 - 85. The Suns allowed the Spurs to score 32 points in the fourth quarter for the come-from-behind win. Marion, Nash, and Thomas all had double doubles, but it wasn't enough in the last minute. The Spurs had been down to the Suns about 45 of the 48 minutes. What a waste. The refs didn't help, either.

dirk the jerk

Dirk the Jerk got the NBA's MVP this year, but not by much. He shouldn't have won it to begin with, since Nash won it the last two years in a row and posted even better numbers this year. The top two finishers were the only ones close in the race. Here's what the voting looked like:

Player, Team; 1st; 2nd; 3rd; 4th; 5th; Pts
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas; 83; 39; 7; -; -; 1138
Steve Nash, Phoenix; 44; 74; 11; -; -; 1013

Dirk isn't even in the running anymore, after an incredible first series loss to the 8th seed Golden State Warriors, who the Jazz are now leading 3 - 1 in their conference semi-finals. The Mavericks might have beaten the Warriors and knocked them out of the playoffs entirely if they hadn't sat down their stars, but I doubt they could have beaten them anyway, since the Mavs had lost all 3 of their other regular season meetings, as well. The Suns, on the other hand, did not have one team that defeated them every time they played. The Suns were even able to beat the #1 Mavs twice in a row at the end of the season, and the second time was a blowout! Nash should have won this award for the third time straight, but the voters were blind to how the Suns benefit more from Nash than the Mavs from Dirk. GO NASH! GO SUNS!

suns 2 - spurs 2

What a game! The Suns were down by as many as 11 points on a lot of occassions. The Spurs were running their kind of game starting in the second quarter going through most of the fourth as well. The Suns fought very hard during the third and fourth quarters, getting 32 points in each. They allowed the Spurs 35 points in the third, so the 32 didn't seem to matter, but they only allowed 18 points in the fourth with great defensive stops and smart plays. Nash got 24 points and 15 assists. Stat was one rebound away from a double double with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Marion had 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Suns won the rebounding category by 10 boards, not something you see everyday. We even had more offensive rebounds. The kicker to the game was when the Suns had just gotten the lead at the end of the game, less than a minute to go, and Nash was dribbling down the court. Robert Horry then body checked Nash into the scorer's table. The team was insensed. Raja Bell got in Horry's face, and the teams pretty much cleared the benches. Men were holding each other back. Even Nash got back in Horry's face. Nash does not get angry easily, and he was furious. Just see for yourself in the pictures below. The Suns now tied up the series 2 - 2. The Suns won 104 - 98. The Suns didn't even have the lead after the early part of the second quarter, but they rallied at the end of the fourth to even it all up. The Suns play again at home on Wednesday. GO SUNS!

suns 1 - spurs 2

This game's officiating crew was absolutely pathetic. I could not believe the bad calls and the bad no calls that these refs made, or didn't make, as the case may be. The Suns came out with something to prove on the Spurs home floor, but the officials killed that momentum really quickly. As the picture shows above, D'Antoni was very upset with the officiating, he even received a technical as he yelled at the refs for not calling fouls on Bowen each time that he hit Nash at the top of the arch as he was setting up each play for about 10 trips down the floor. I personally was extremely upset with the calls. The Suns had a good size lead in the first and second quarters, but the officials quickly took that away. One play, specifically, that I remember that was called poorly, was when Tim Duncan lowered his head and his shoulder, powered his way in to the basket and got the defensive foul called on Marion. That would have been an offensive foul for anyone on the Suns, and it definitely was an offensive foul, but it was called not against Duncan but against the Suns. Marion got 26 points, Stat got 21, and Nash got 16 with 12 assists, as well. Nash was kneed by Bowen in the crotch, there was a foul called on him, but it should have been a flagrant foul, and the ESPN commentators agree with me. Stat got his 21 even though he had 2 quick early fouls and sat a lot in the first half, 2 quick 3rd quarter fouls, one quick 4th quarter foul, and Stat had 5 fouls, didn't play but 21 minutes, but he still got the 21 points. If he can stay out of foul trouble (meaning the refs have to call a beter game) then Stat will be a huge factor in this series. Even with all of the bad officiating, the Suns only lost 108 - 101. The Suns will try to even things up on San Antonio's floor on Monday night. Game 5 is back here on Wednesday night. GO SUNS!

nba playoffs

suns 1 - spurs 1

The Suns had an incredible first 4-6 minutes, making it look like the Spurs weren't going to be able to keep up with them at all. The Spurs came back at the end of the first quarter to take the lead and hold the Suns to only 19 points. The Suns poored it on in the second quarter, scoring 30...again, as always, a good sign. The Suns were then up 7 at the half. The Suns and Spurs both had 22 in the third, but the Suns had another 30 point quarter in the fourth. Both 30 point quarters for the Suns were 17 point quarters for the Spurs. The way the Suns won this game was by their defense, that's right, I said defense. Kurt Thomas started this game in the place of James Jones. Dirty played a great game, and most of his contribution was the defense he provided on Tim Duncan (of the Virgin Islands). Duncan still got 29 points, but that was 4 points less than game one, and since Dirty did single coverage, that allowed the rest of the Suns team to focus on defending the other shooters of the Spurs. Tony Parker was held to only 13 points, where he had 32 points in game one, this was in part because of Dirty, but Marion also defended him and did a great job. Trix is such a valuable and versatile player, no wonder he's paid more than any other Suns team member. Nash had a double double with 20 points and 16 assists. Stat had 27 points and 9 rebounds, while Trix had only 5 points but grabbed 10 rebounds and played great defense. Raja Bell had 18 points, Barbosa had 13, and Thomas (Dirty) had 12. The Suns ended up winning by 20 points over the Spurs, even though the Spurs put up quite a fight the entire game. If Dirty can continue to play such great defense, as well as Trix, and Nash can do what he does best, distribute, then the Suns have a great chance at taking at least one game away from the Spurs while in San Antonio for Saturday and Monday's games. The final score was 101 - 81. We can do it again! GO SUNS!

suns 0 - spurs 1

Though I'm not happy to report it, the Spurs defeated the Suns in Phoenix in the first game of this best of seven series Sunday afternoon. The Spurs and Suns we neck and neck the entire game, but in the fourth quarter Nash's nose and Parker's forehead collided. Parker went to the floor, Nash stayed up, but then he started bleeding profusely from a large gash on the bridge of his nose (see picture below). The Suns couldn't keep the tie or go ahead in the last two minutes with Nash trying to get bandaged and back in the game as fast as he could. The blood just wouldn't stop coming, though, and Nash ended up sitting out the rest of the game. The Suns had a valiant effort there at the end of the game without Nash, but they couldn't get anything to go in the basket. Still, Nash had 31 points and 8 assists, while Stat put in 20 with 18 boards. Barbosa had 18, Marion had 16, and Bell had 10. They just couldn't pull it off. Suns are down one game to none, but we play again tomorrow night, still in Phoenix. GO SUNS!

suns 4 - lakers 1

The Suns move on to round 2! The Spurs already won earlier the same evening and knew we'd be coming, but they didn't know when. Game one is Sunday, May 6th, at 12:30pm AZ time on ABC. The Lakers couldn't handle the desire the Suns came out with. It was a good Suns-style game. Bryant scored 34 points, Odom scored 33, but their combined strength was not enough to hold off the entire Suns team. Stat had 27 point and 16 boards; the Matrix had 26 points and 10 boards; Nash had 17 points and 10 dimes; and Barbosa had 18 points, himself. It was a well-rounded Suns team that defeated this one-star Lakers team. Any time the Suns get 30+ points in a quarter it is a good sign, when they get it twice in a row, that's a sign of another W to come. The Lakers let the Suns dominate the first half with 32 points both quarters. The Suns held off a Lakers 33 point 3rd quarter push, and won the game 119 - 110 in regulation. The Suns move on, as mentioned above, to the second round, the Western Conference Semi-Finals, to take on the San Antonio Spurs, who also won their series 4 games to 1 over the Denver Nuggets. One side note, but an important note just the same, the Golden State Warriors, the 8th seed in the Western Conference who barely made the playoffs, has knocked off the number 1 seed Dallas Mavericks in the first round! Way to go Warriors! The Warriors will either take on the Houston Rockets or the Utah Jazz in their second round series. Dirk the Jerk is out of it! Go MV3 Steve! GO SUNS!

suns 3 - lakers 1

The Suns could have swept if they held off the Lakers in the last game, but we are still up 3 - 1. 33 points in the first quarter, and 30+ is always a good sign for the Suns. The Suns won each quarter but the fourth, and that they lost by only one point, 29 - 28. The Suns win 113 - 100. We even won the offensive rebounding today! 5 Suns had double figures scoring (Marion, Nash, Stat, Jones, and Barbosa). Stat was huge: 27 points and 21 rebounds, 4 of those offensive. Nash set an NBA playoff assist record with 15 assists in the first half. He almost tied the record for the most assists in a playoff game overall, with 23 assists, just one shy of the 24 assist record that Magic Johnson and John Stockton are tied for. Marion had a "quiet" game with 22 points and 11 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive. The Suns played a solid, intense game, and they took it away from the Lakers, crushing their hopes for moving on in the playoffs. The Suns come back to Phx to win the series on Wednesday night at 7:30pm AZ time.

Just look at that intensity on Nash's face!

suns 2 - lakers 1

The Suns came out blazin', winning the first quarter 31 - 17. They were up by as many as 17 points, but the lost their spark from there on. The Lakers got 31 to the Suns' 20 in the second, closing the lead to only 3 points at the half. The Suns lost the third by 7, down by four. The fourth quarter had times that the Suns could have come back and passed the Lakers, so that's good news, but the Suns didn't cash in but rather turned the ball over numerous times and gave way too many offensive rebounds (19). The Suns would have done better with better fast break opportunities and points in the paint, but the Lakers' defense did a great job against those two Suns' categories. Nash and Stat had double doubles: Nash with 10 points, 13 assists, and Stat with 24 points, 10 rebounds. The Suns lost 95 - 89. Game 4 is Sunday in LA on ABC at 12:30pm AZ time.

suns 2 - lakers 0

As Barbosa receives the 6th Man Award, the Suns take a crushing 2 - 0 lead in the series with the Lakers. Now we just wait to see if Nash is the MV3, as he should be. The votes are all in, so we're just waiting. The Suns came out to play, and the Lakers tried to keep to their original game plan, but it failed them. The Suns won every quarter, posting three 30+ quarters. At the half, the Suns were up by 21, and they never let it go. The Lakers worked their way below the 20-point deficit mark, but the Suns brought it back. The Suns won 126 - 98, a dominating 28 point victory. Nash only played 25 minutes, but he still got 16 points and 14 assists for his double double. Marion earned his own double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Stat was one rebound shy of a double double, with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Every player on the Suns' 12-person roster played and scored. Two Suns were 20+ in points (Barbosa had 26 again), two were 15+, and two more were 10+ (Jones, 12, and Bell, 11). Every starter was in double figures. The Suns' defense and incredible offense kept Bryant to only 34 minutes with only 15 points. All but one of the Lakers on their roster scored, as well, but they couldn't handle the Suns offense.

suns 1 - lakers 0

The Suns went down by 9 at the half. Kobe Bryant scored 28 points in the first half, and it seemed the Suns had no answer. That is, until the second half. Barbosa scored 26 points, exploding off the bench. Nash, Marion, and Stoudemire all got double doubles. Nash had 20 points and 10 assists. Marion had 16 points and 16 rebounds. Stoudemire had 23 points and 12 rebounds. We didn't get killed on the boards, and we didn't give up a ton of offensive rebounds. The Suns won the first game of this best of seven series, 95 - 87. The next game is Tuesday night, still in Phoenix, at 7:30pm AZ time. GO SUNS!