Good article by Scott Bordow!
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Commentary
Don’t you dare question Suns’ determination By Scott Bordow, Tribune
ColumnistMay 5, 2006
LOS ANGELES - Leandro Barbosa had four stitches in his lip.
And a smile on his face.
The Suns were battered, bruised and bloodied. But they’re still battling.
Get ready, Arizona. Here comes Game 7.
Maybe we should have known Phoenix would do the improbable and beat Los Angeles 126-118 in overtime Thursday in Game 6 at Staples Center.
We wrote off the Suns when Amaré Stoudemire was hurt, and they proved us wrong.
We doubted them after Kurt Thomas went down, and here they are.
One win away from becoming just the eighth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after trailing 3-1.
Question them now at your own risk.
The Suns might not be big enough or tough enough, but one thing is for certain: You can’t question their heart or their resiliency.
Raja Bell’s suspension left coach Mike D’Antoni with a seven-man rotation Thursday. Six, if you don’t count Eddie House, who has yet to get going in this series.
That was bad enough. Then, the officiating crew of Dick Bavetta, Joe DeRosa and Derrick Stafford — mindful of how physical the series had become — called the game so tight Phoenix had several players in foul trouble throughout the second half and couldn’t afford to contest shots.
Finally, the game went into overtime.
You were sure the exhausted, shorthanded Suns would wilt. Four of their starters — James Jones being the exception — would wind up playing at least 46 minutes.
Instead, they soared.
There was Tim Thomas, unwanted and waived by the Chicago Bulls, sinking a 3-pointer near the end of regulation to tie the game and another in overtime to give the Suns a 116-109 lead. There was Shawn Marion, having to defend Kobe Bryant in Bell’s absence, playing 50 minutes and finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds, including the most important board of the night — the one he corralled and threw out to Thomas for the tying 3-pointer. Marion has had three straight productive games after a quiet start to the series and now has quieted his critics.
There was Boris Diaw, growing up right before our eyes, scoring three of Phoenix’s first four buckets in overtime and assisting on the other, a Marion dunk.
There was Steve Nash, his back so sore and so tight that when he came out of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, he went back to the locker room and stretched so his back wouldn’t lock up like it did in Game 4.
Nash played 46 minutes, scored 32 points and had 13 assists.
That’s an MVP performance, by the way.
And, finally, there was Barbosa, perhaps the player of the game. It was just a year ago that D’Antoni said he didn’t trust Barbosa enough to play him in the postseason.
On Thursday, Barbosa started in place of Bell and got the initial defensive assignment on Bryant.
It seemed like the stuff nightmares were made of.
It turned into a sweet dream for the Suns.
Barbosa held his ground defensively as well as he could, despite an elbow from Bryant that opened his lip, and torched the Lakers on the other end of the court. He had 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting, directed the offense and was an impossible matchup.
TNT commentator Doug Collins said the game was Barbosa’s coming-out party. He couldn’t have picked a better time.
So many of the Suns played so well they were able to survive a virtuoso performance by Bryant, who had 50 points in 52 minutes.
“We just played a great game,” D’Antoni said. “Just their stamina alone was remarkable.”
Perhaps this was justice, the basketball gods paying the Suns back for their heartbreaking loss in Game 4.
Now they come home, to a Game 7 few thought was possible.
“We’ll be ready,” D’Antoni said.
No one can doubt that.
--------------------------------------------
Commentary
Don’t you dare question Suns’ determination By Scott Bordow, Tribune
ColumnistMay 5, 2006
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LOS ANGELES - Leandro Barbosa had four stitches in his lip.
And a smile on his face.
The Suns were battered, bruised and bloodied. But they’re still battling.
Get ready, Arizona. Here comes Game 7.
Maybe we should have known Phoenix would do the improbable and beat Los Angeles 126-118 in overtime Thursday in Game 6 at Staples Center.
We wrote off the Suns when Amaré Stoudemire was hurt, and they proved us wrong.
We doubted them after Kurt Thomas went down, and here they are.
One win away from becoming just the eighth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after trailing 3-1.
Question them now at your own risk.
The Suns might not be big enough or tough enough, but one thing is for certain: You can’t question their heart or their resiliency.
Raja Bell’s suspension left coach Mike D’Antoni with a seven-man rotation Thursday. Six, if you don’t count Eddie House, who has yet to get going in this series.
That was bad enough. Then, the officiating crew of Dick Bavetta, Joe DeRosa and Derrick Stafford — mindful of how physical the series had become — called the game so tight Phoenix had several players in foul trouble throughout the second half and couldn’t afford to contest shots.
Finally, the game went into overtime.
You were sure the exhausted, shorthanded Suns would wilt. Four of their starters — James Jones being the exception — would wind up playing at least 46 minutes.
Instead, they soared.
There was Tim Thomas, unwanted and waived by the Chicago Bulls, sinking a 3-pointer near the end of regulation to tie the game and another in overtime to give the Suns a 116-109 lead. There was Shawn Marion, having to defend Kobe Bryant in Bell’s absence, playing 50 minutes and finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds, including the most important board of the night — the one he corralled and threw out to Thomas for the tying 3-pointer. Marion has had three straight productive games after a quiet start to the series and now has quieted his critics.
There was Boris Diaw, growing up right before our eyes, scoring three of Phoenix’s first four buckets in overtime and assisting on the other, a Marion dunk.
There was Steve Nash, his back so sore and so tight that when he came out of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, he went back to the locker room and stretched so his back wouldn’t lock up like it did in Game 4.
Nash played 46 minutes, scored 32 points and had 13 assists.
That’s an MVP performance, by the way.
And, finally, there was Barbosa, perhaps the player of the game. It was just a year ago that D’Antoni said he didn’t trust Barbosa enough to play him in the postseason.
On Thursday, Barbosa started in place of Bell and got the initial defensive assignment on Bryant.
It seemed like the stuff nightmares were made of.
It turned into a sweet dream for the Suns.
Barbosa held his ground defensively as well as he could, despite an elbow from Bryant that opened his lip, and torched the Lakers on the other end of the court. He had 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting, directed the offense and was an impossible matchup.
TNT commentator Doug Collins said the game was Barbosa’s coming-out party. He couldn’t have picked a better time.
So many of the Suns played so well they were able to survive a virtuoso performance by Bryant, who had 50 points in 52 minutes.
“We just played a great game,” D’Antoni said. “Just their stamina alone was remarkable.”
Perhaps this was justice, the basketball gods paying the Suns back for their heartbreaking loss in Game 4.
Now they come home, to a Game 7 few thought was possible.
“We’ll be ready,” D’Antoni said.
No one can doubt that.
