Phoenix @ Washington - Game Thread - Tuesday Jan. 23, 2007 - 5:00 pm

sunsfn

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Phoenix -- Washington

Tuesday, January 23 2007 - 5:00 PM - NBA TV
Verizon Center - Washington D.C. , DC


Suns-Wizards Preview


The Washington Wizards snapped the Phoenix Suns' franchise-record 15-game winning streak last month. Now the Wizards get another chance to end another long unbeaten run by the Suns when the NBA's highest-scoring teams meet at the Verizon Center on Tuesday night.

Washington defeated Phoenix 144-139 in overtime Dec. 22 to stop the Suns' 15-game run. Gilbert Arenas scored 54 points to lift the Wizards, who come into this contest second in the league with 107.5 points per game, past the Suns, who average 111.5.
That game was played at the U.S. Airways Center. Tuesday's season series finale will be on Washington's home floor, and the Wizards (24-16) will face a Suns team that's riding a 13-game winning streak.
"I'm not even going to address that," Wizards forward Caron Butler said. "Because I don't want to jinx us."
Washington, an Eastern Conference-best 17-3 at home, will look for a repeat performance from Arenas, who shot 21-of-37 from the floor in the December matchup and was 6-for-12 from 3-point range as he posted the second-highest point total ever against the Suns.
The Wizards haven't lost at the Verizon Center since Dec. 9 and have won four in a row overall. Washington also ended Dallas' 12-game winning streak Dec. 4.
Arenas struggled in the Wizards' last game, shooting 2-for-10 in the third and fourth quarters and finishing with just 22 points against Boston on Saturday, but Washington managed to win 115-110 in overtime for its 10th consecutive home victory.
"We got lackadaisical," said Arenas, whose team blew a 21-point second-half lead against the injury-plagued Celtics. "They came back and made a great run, and we had to win it in overtime. We had to dig down deep. People were fatigued. But, like professionals, we came out and we got the win."

While the Wizards have been dominant at home of late, the Suns (32-8) have been all but unbeatable regardless of where they play. Phoenix is 29-2 in its last 31 games and has yet to lose in the new year. The Suns have won five in a row on the road.
"We've had some breaks," coach Mike D'Antoni said, "but at the same time we've played good basketball, and we haven't beat ourselves in a lot of games. It's going to take somebody to play a great game like Dallas or Washington did to beat us."
The Suns showed that Sunday by overwhelming Minnesota 131-102. Amare Stoudemire had 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and Shawn Marion scored 17 points while grabbing a season-high 20 rebounds in just 30 minutes of action.
Marion's 11 second-quarter boards tied a U.S. Airways Center record set by Charles Barkley on Nov. 2, 1996.
"I just think it means we're a very good team and that we're hopefully building something special," Phoenix point guard Steve Nash said of the Suns' latest run. "These streaks are meaningless to the guys out here. I hope it's fun for the fans and the media, but for us it's all about trying to get better and preparing for the playoffs."
Only seven other teams have had two win streaks of at least 13 games in a season. Five of those clubs went on to win the NBA title.
The Suns will be opening a five-game road trip in Washington, where they are 2-7 in their last nine visits.
 

Skumbag

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...i am eagerly awaiting this game & Miller time.
 
OP
OP
S

sunsfn

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...i am eagerly awaiting this game & Miller time.

My e-mail said, you have a message from Skumbag!!

I said who the h... is Skumbag! :D How in the world did you come up with that name? Or, maybe I should not ask? :D
-----------------
This game will be a wild one. They have three excellent players on this team that can score and it will be fun to watch!
 

Skumbag

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...because I'm a sweet caring person that likes long walks on the beach and beautiful sunsets.
 

HooverDam

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On the pregame show they just said Nash (sans beard) will start out on Arenas. The coaches feel that Arenas will get his, so they want to use their "good" defenders to lock down everyone else.
 

jbeecham

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Sounds like a better plan then last time where they rotated Marion & Bell on Arenas and he torched them both and got Caron Butler a ton of open shots too. The problem with guarding Arenas is that he goes around a ton of screens and we usually switch the defender on him. Once he gets the mismatch, he attacks it and the defense collapses and others get wide open looks.
 

Nash

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im watching the game with the TVU player. the game seems to be on in CC tv (Chinese). I recall the quality usually being better than it is today.

is anyone watching the game online? let me know how the quality is.
 

Espo

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They look great. Diaw is playing like a monster and they are shooting the lights out.
 

JS22

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Sometimes we just have to sit back and appreciate the Suns. They are an absolute pleasure to watch.
 

mjb21aztd

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Very good half so far everyone is playing great lets keep it up in the 2nd half :)
 

az1965

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I'd like to see us come out of half time and put this game in the deep freeze in 3rd quarter... all scrubs 4th quarter again...
 

mjb21aztd

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I would like to think this game is over but with the way the suns give up big leads i'm a little nervous about this one now seeing the way Arenas finished the half.
 

devilalum

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Think the Suns had this one circled on THEIR calendar?
 

Nash

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I'd like to go on record and state that Greg Anthony is an a&*hole. everything he says pisses me off.

I knew the moment he was asked who was the more valulable player between Nash and Arenas, that he would discredit Nash in some way.
He lived up to it with this statement: "We're discrediting the other players on the Suns. Its not like Nash plays 44 mpg and his team messes up w/o him." What the hell has this guy been watching about this team if he hasn't seen how the team relies heavily on Nash's presence?!
 

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