azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Suns win 2nd straight without Amaré, clinch Pacific Division
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 31, 2005 12:00 AM
The Suns triple your pleasure.
Sticking to three as the number of the day in Phoenix's 116-87 home rout of Philadelphia, Quentin Richardson broke Dan Majerle's record for three-pointers in a season and Steve Nash put up his second career triple-double by the middle of the third quarter.
The Suns said goodbye to another three, one that they had been stuck on for a decade.
Wednesday's win clinched Phoenix's fourth Pacific Division title, thanks to a 25-win improvement that is the NBA's eighth best turnaround ever - and there is still with three weeks to go.
"We raised the bar," Nash said. "Having said that, it's not enough."
Nash sped to his triple-double (12 points, 12 assists, 13 rebounds) in 27 minutes.
Amaré Stoudemire, always being asked to lift his rebounding prowess, could have taken notes as he sat out his second - and what he expects to be his last - game with left ankle inflammation.
Nash posted a career high for rebounds in the first half alone with 11.
"I'll start calling him Baby Shaq," Richardson said.
"I've been rubbing off on him," Shawn Marion said.
Needing two assists at halftime for Phoenix's first triple-double since Penny Hardaway in 2003, Nash suspended what drama was remaining in a developing blowout. Assists nine and 10 came on consecutive plays in the seventh minute of the third quarter.
The capper was appropriate.
On a high pick and roll with Steven Hunter, Nash pulled a double team to the baseline and fed Hunter for a slam dunk.
"I tried to work hard and hustle, but there had to be some stars in alignment," Nash said.
Richardson's record-breaking 200th three-pointer came amid a 33-8 Phoenix run that ended the first half. Majerle feigned wiping a tear from his courtside TV analyst post.
The Sixers cried mercy during the stretch, twice calling timeouts to break up the scoring frenzy. The Suns scored on 14 of their last 16 possessions in the first half with torrid shooting, and Nash grabbing offensive rebounds for Joe Johnson buckets twice late.
"There's running and then there's Phoenix," Sixers coach Jim O'Brien said.
While Phoenix turned hot, Philadelphia settled for jumpers on nearly every trip in the final eight minutes of the first half.
Suns coach Mike D'Antoni commended his team for adhering to the plan of denying Kyle Korver three-point looks, having Johnson take away Allen Iverson's perimeter shots and keeping the Sixers off the free throw line.
The second quarter was a flip from the first, when the Sixers scored in the paint on 18 of their first 20 points.
The Suns win marked the first time since March 5 that they took a big lead and kept the margin wide without a scare.
Before this week's two home wins, the Suns were 3-5 when a starter was out and 7-7 in their last 14 home games. With the two wins, the Suns have the league's best record.
They finished off its Eastern slate with a 24-6 interconference record, also a club best.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but this still feels damn good," Richardson said with the perspective of an ex-Clippers player.
View from Press Row
The game could not be easy for Philadelphia coach Jim O'Brien to watch Wednesday. Not just Steve Nash outhustling his big men for rebounds and a triple-double. Not just seeing a one-point lead become a 24-point hole in eight minutes. He had to watch Joe Johnson, a guy he stopped playing as Boston's coach in Johnson's rookie year, score 20 points, grab seven rebounds and hand out seven assists. The last time Johnson did not play in a game was a "DNP-coach's decision" by O'Brien just before Phoenix traded for him.
- Paul Coro
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0331sunsplug0331.html
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 31, 2005 12:00 AM
The Suns triple your pleasure.
Sticking to three as the number of the day in Phoenix's 116-87 home rout of Philadelphia, Quentin Richardson broke Dan Majerle's record for three-pointers in a season and Steve Nash put up his second career triple-double by the middle of the third quarter.
The Suns said goodbye to another three, one that they had been stuck on for a decade.
Wednesday's win clinched Phoenix's fourth Pacific Division title, thanks to a 25-win improvement that is the NBA's eighth best turnaround ever - and there is still with three weeks to go.
"We raised the bar," Nash said. "Having said that, it's not enough."
Nash sped to his triple-double (12 points, 12 assists, 13 rebounds) in 27 minutes.
Amaré Stoudemire, always being asked to lift his rebounding prowess, could have taken notes as he sat out his second - and what he expects to be his last - game with left ankle inflammation.
Nash posted a career high for rebounds in the first half alone with 11.
"I'll start calling him Baby Shaq," Richardson said.
"I've been rubbing off on him," Shawn Marion said.
Needing two assists at halftime for Phoenix's first triple-double since Penny Hardaway in 2003, Nash suspended what drama was remaining in a developing blowout. Assists nine and 10 came on consecutive plays in the seventh minute of the third quarter.
The capper was appropriate.
On a high pick and roll with Steven Hunter, Nash pulled a double team to the baseline and fed Hunter for a slam dunk.
"I tried to work hard and hustle, but there had to be some stars in alignment," Nash said.
Richardson's record-breaking 200th three-pointer came amid a 33-8 Phoenix run that ended the first half. Majerle feigned wiping a tear from his courtside TV analyst post.
The Sixers cried mercy during the stretch, twice calling timeouts to break up the scoring frenzy. The Suns scored on 14 of their last 16 possessions in the first half with torrid shooting, and Nash grabbing offensive rebounds for Joe Johnson buckets twice late.
"There's running and then there's Phoenix," Sixers coach Jim O'Brien said.
While Phoenix turned hot, Philadelphia settled for jumpers on nearly every trip in the final eight minutes of the first half.
Suns coach Mike D'Antoni commended his team for adhering to the plan of denying Kyle Korver three-point looks, having Johnson take away Allen Iverson's perimeter shots and keeping the Sixers off the free throw line.
The second quarter was a flip from the first, when the Sixers scored in the paint on 18 of their first 20 points.
The Suns win marked the first time since March 5 that they took a big lead and kept the margin wide without a scare.
Before this week's two home wins, the Suns were 3-5 when a starter was out and 7-7 in their last 14 home games. With the two wins, the Suns have the league's best record.
They finished off its Eastern slate with a 24-6 interconference record, also a club best.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but this still feels damn good," Richardson said with the perspective of an ex-Clippers player.
View from Press Row
The game could not be easy for Philadelphia coach Jim O'Brien to watch Wednesday. Not just Steve Nash outhustling his big men for rebounds and a triple-double. Not just seeing a one-point lead become a 24-point hole in eight minutes. He had to watch Joe Johnson, a guy he stopped playing as Boston's coach in Johnson's rookie year, score 20 points, grab seven rebounds and hand out seven assists. The last time Johnson did not play in a game was a "DNP-coach's decision" by O'Brien just before Phoenix traded for him.
- Paul Coro
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0331sunsplug0331.html
