Moments of 04-05

[playstation]

Alright, this is how we'll do this: I want a web memento of this seasons great moments/games. Each person makes 1 post about 1 moment and/or game and writes to it with some detail. It would be real nice to 20-30 different moments each from a different person while looking through this thread.

I'll start at the top:

Nov. 3, 2004- 1st game of season. When I saw the starting lineup, I rolled my eyes, but thought we'd cruise to a win anyways. We did, but what struck me was how we did it. The 2nd quarter was just one big 36-12 run, ending with what became the signature chest bumps and bravado. The game was played in 'NBA Jam' fashion, with high-flying dunks and high-arching 3's. This was the first time. Suns up 64-35 at halftime, and 112-82 to end it. The journey had started, and the ball was rolling to reforge the great basketball from the days of yore.

 

[scotsman13]

Amare' block shot on Brad Miller to insure that the suns won the game.

the suns just keep winning. somehow some way they won even when they shouldnt have. the lakers, the kings, sonics, wolves etc all fell to us.

 

[green machine]

That first win in Phoenix against the Lakers. That proved to me that this team was good, finally beat a team that they usually would not, and it was such a great game too!

 

[Cheesebeef]

coming back from 13 down with 5 minutes left in LA - me and Ouchie at the game, Q for 3. Right then and there I knew this team was really something special.

I also loved the ass-whooping we put on Miami the first time we played them. It put us at 31-4 and I thought I had never seen such a domninating Suns team in my life. I remember sitting in a bar watchign the game by myself and not cheering - but literally just shaking my head and laughing at how great they were.

It's only the beginning folks - it's only the beginning. It was weird - I wasn't even crushed last night when we lost. The Spurs are the mountain we have to climb - anyone who knows anything about basketball knows every team has that mountain and we definitely know who it is. I also loved the fight we showed - we could have given up down 13, we could have given up when it got pushed back to 91-83 or hell even 97-90 but we kept fighting and that my friends is a great sign of things to come.

If they had been swept, I would have been furious and embarassed - but we fought - and we fought hard and that's all we could have asked for this year.

AND - they made the wait between football seasons that much shorter - TWO MONTHS TILL PRESEASON!

very excited to see how the offseason shakes out.

 

[Chaplin]

I gotta go with that first Dallas game in Dallas on November 16th.

Suns 107
Mavs 101

Nash: 17 points 18 assists
JJ: Only 7 points 7 boards and 5 assists
Q: 18 points 13 boards
Shawn: 18 points 14 boards
Amare: 34 points 11 boards

Our bench was led by Casey who had 6 points and 3 assists in 21 minutes.

We had just come off of two straight losses--the first against Lebron in the last 5 minutes of the game, the second against the Sacramento Kings, who EASILY played their best game of the season. I remember saying that they played as good a game as ANY team had played so far--and I still think that.

 

[AZZenny]

I can't tell you which game or exact moment - but maybe a month or two in, watching on TV as Steve Nash made a flawless, no-pause, running bounce pass through a defender's legs, ball arrived at perfect serving height in Amare's hands AS he started rising to the dunk - It just knocked me OUT. I leaped up shouting WOOOOOHOOOO! and my poor dogs discovered just because baseball was over, this year the loud craziness didn't stop. Steve Nash and Amare make basketball absolutely beautiful.

 

[arthurracoon]

Wow...so many great moments.

It has to be Game 6 against the Mavs.

That has to be one of the best games I've seen in my short life; possibly THE BEST GAME I HAVE EVER WITNESSED.

 

[arthurracoon]

So many moments from earlier in the season:

Yuta Tabuse hitting the three against the Hawks.

Q hitting the three against the Lakers

Amare's block on Miller

Matrix's block on Dirk

Taking down Miami to go to 31-4

The All Star Break


BUT THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE REGULAR SEASON:

Beating Seattle in our first matchup.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

My pick is surprisingly a Suns loss...


The game against Golden State, just a special game, with both teams racing up and down the court. Exactly what basketball is meant to be.


Amare's two dunks over Foyle are in the top 5 of Amare dunks all time for me. Thinking about that game gives me chills.

 

[Dr. Dumas]

I can't remember what playoff game it was (I think first or second home game vs.SA).

Jim Jackson made a three then pounded on his arm band in honor of Joe Johnson. What an awesome moment....

This was and will be a special bunch of guys for years to come.


Thank you to everyone who posted throughout the year. Made the days go by soo much better.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

The home Detroit game in Feb. The team was down, and rallied back against the best defensive team in the league (Detroit was also rolling at the time).

A statement win that finally started to pull national attention to us.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

the special moment for me was also a loss. it was at the beginning of the year. we had strung together a nice start and then lost to the kings when the kings hadn't found their stride yet. i was pissed. but i was pissed 'cuz i had already begun to realize how much better we were than the prior year, and how much better we were prolly going to become (though i really had NO idea just HOW MUCH better)! it was the recognition that just winning with this team wasn't going to satiate me. they had to win against our rivals. and i realized that when i said "our rivals" i didn't just mean division rivals, but PLAYOFF POSITIONING and CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDING (though i'll admit that i thought THAT was in the more distant future) rivals. when expectations rise you know you're on the way to something special. that's why that loss was a special moment for me.

oh, and amare's attempt to leap over manu gifloppi and dunk last night. hey manu, how'd those nuts taste? hope you liked 'em 'cuz if you intend to keep trying to flop w/ amare you're gonna get a healthy heaping plate of amarenuts on a regular basis!

 

[Chaplin]

the special moment for me was also a loss. it was at the beginning of the year. we had strung together a nice start and then lost to the kings when the kings hadn't found their stride yet. i was pissed. but i was pissed 'cuz i had already begun to realize how much better we were than the prior year, and how much better we were prolly going to become (though i really had NO idea just HOW MUCH better)! it was the recognition that just winning with this team wasn't going to satiate me. they had to win against our rivals. and i realized that when i said "our rivals" i didn't just mean division rivals, but PLAYOFF POSITIONING and CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDING (though i'll admit that i thought THAT was in the more distant future) rivals. when expectations rise you know you're on the way to something special. that's why that loss was a special moment for me.

We lost to the Cavs the game before.

And I'll say it again, the Kings played their best basketball of the year so far (maybe even their best game all season) that night. They really did everything right. It was as complete a game as I've ever seen. And we still almost pulled it out.

 

[ActingWild]

Well, the Brad Miller block really sticks out in my mind, along with Marion's block on Dirk and Nash's MVP play against Dallas in the playoffs. But all of those have been said so......

01/02/05--

Amare putting up 50 in a 117-98 route of the Trailblazers.

AND

the All-Star break

1st in 3 point contest- Q
1st in skills challenge- Nash
1st in shootout- Marion, Majerle, Taurasi
2nd in dunk contest-Amare (with an amazing header pass from Nash!)

 

[Chaplin]

the All-Star break

1st in 3 point contest- Q
1st in skills challenge- Nash
1st in shootout- Marion, Majerle, Taurasi
2nd in dunk contest-Amare (with an amazing header pass from Nash!)

 

[Amare32]

the all-star weekend was certainly a great moment. What a great bunch of events those were.

 

[playstation]

here's an obscure one:

Jan. 30th, at Toronto, 3rd Quarter:

Halftime score, suns up 58-46
End of 3rd score, suns up 104-72

That explosion had me laughing silly, with amare scoring 19 in the quarter. The most points scored in a quarter on the Raptors EVER (and they've sucked for a long time). Led to this quote:

"It was embarrassing," Rose said. "Amare Stoudemire was in first-half foul trouble and he came back in the third and really asserted himself, dominated."

 

[devilalum]

January 21 against SA.


3 Suns starters played over 50 minutes, the Suns had just made the trade for Jackson but he hadn't reported yet. Flopoverli had the best game of his career to beat the Suns in OT. The Suns were all running on fumes and just burned out at the end of OT.

Incredible

 

[Compa]

January 21 against SA.


3 Suns starters played over 50 minutes, the Suns had just made the trade for Jackson but he hadn't reported yet. Flopoverli had the best game of his career to beat the Suns in OT. The Suns were all running on fumes and just burned out at the end of OT.

Incredible

Marion dominated in this game. He went on a tear in the 3rd quarter that made me teary-eyed. Then SA came back and he hit the game-tying 3 to send it to OT.

I first thought this season might be special when, during the preseason, I was walking by a restaurant that had the Suns game on. They had over 100 points, and I did a double take when I thought I saw that is was the 3rd quarter.

 

[green machine]

Marion dominated in this game. He went on a tear in the 3rd quarter that made me teary-eyed. Then SA came back and he hit the game-tying 3 to send it to OT.

I first thought this season might be special when, during the preseason, I was walking by a restaurant that had the Suns game on. They had over 100 points, and I did a double take when I thought I saw that is was the 3rd quarter.

What a tough game, but a great one!

 

[Suns_fan69]

Im surprised no one has mentioned this one yet but that first game vs Seattle near the beginning of the season. That was the game when both teams were tied for tops in the league heading into the game at 19-3 or something like that.

Suns were down by 7 heading into the last couple of minutes but the team rallied together and won by 2 in what was an awesome display of run & gun "old school" basketball.

This particular game was the one that got me believing in the team. On the road, overcoming a late game deficit and playing their style to perfection.

 

[Billythekid]

The 1st Seattle game was a beauty. Joe Johnson stole the show in that one. A few days after we went up to Denver and beat them 107-105 if i'm correct. It was a frantic finish with Q tipping the game winner in. Amare played a nice game with about 30pts.

Also, the 1st game in Minnesota, Jan 4th 2005.
It was just a statement game. The TWolves always gave us fits and resembled a team similar to us... once. Well this night we proved we were on the rise and they were on the decline. Amare had 34pts and Nash had 20pts and 16 assists. KG scored 47pts but Amare reminded him... He didn't hit 50, like amare the previous game.


http://www.nba.com/games/20050104/PHOMIN/recap.html

 

[Joe Mama]

It was the first game against New Orleans... jk.

My favorite game of the season was that first one in Seattle also. A point quite physically against Phoenix most of the game, and the referees finally started calling a handchecking in the fourth quarter. They rallied at the end and one a very exciting game. At that point Seattle was right up there with Phoenix as one of the good, exciting surprises in the NBA. They would fade a little bit as the season wore on because of injuries, but they showed in the playoffs that they were a very good team.

Joe Mama