http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/102507
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1121suns1122.html
Suns beat Kings for seventh-straight win
Jerry Brown, Tribune
The Suns had the NBA’s best point guard on their side. The Sacramento Kings didn’t have a single point guard on their active roster.
Guess what happened?
With their early-season chemistry problems now behind them, the Suns gave the US Airways Center scoreboard a stress test Wednesday, rolling to their seventh straight win and second in as many nights over the Kings in a 127-111 walkover.
Steve Nash had 14 points and 12 assists in the first half alone as the Suns became the first NBA team to score 80 points in a half in more than a decade — when Dallas scored 81 points at Denver on Feb. 29, 1996.
Phoenix got a great head start, hitting 16 of its first 19 shots in the first quarter and tying a franchise record with 47 points. From there, the Suns warmed up for Thanksgiving with a scoring feast that only subsided when Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni cleared his bench to start the fourth quarter.
The Kings played without forward Ron Artest — who had 33 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday’s loss to the Suns in Sacramento, but flew back home early Wednesday because of a family illness.
Already without point guard Mike Bibby, the Kings also went without backup Beno Udrih (right quad contusion). And while the Kings didn’t have any problems scoring, they were helpless to stop Phoenix from the opening tip.
“This is how we need to play. Just get better defensively and go from there,” D’Antoni said. “We moved the ball well and you can see how devastating we can be. It just flowed nicely.”
Now 10-2, the Suns have tied the second-best start in team history and joined San Antonio and Orlando as the first NBA teams to hit 10 wins. In all 10 wins this season, the Suns have scored at least 100 points.
Shawn Marion rebounded from a two-point night Tuesday to lead the Suns with 25, while Nash and Leandro Barbosa, again starting for the injured Raja Bell, each had 18.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1121suns1122.html
Suns play in tune vs. Kings
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 22, 2007 12:00 AM
There are times, such as Wednesday night, when the Suns look like the best quintet since Mozart's.
Artistic, like Steve Nash's playmaking. Rhythmic, like Grant Hill's motion. Flawless, like Shawn Marion's athleticism and Leandro Barbosa's speed.
The Suns did not even need a typical game from Amaré Stoudemire, as they hit all the right notes in an 80-point first half to defeat the Sacramento Kings for a second consecutive night, 127-111 at US Airways Center.
You must be registered for see imagesYou must be registered for see imagesYou must be registered for see images
In their seventh win in a row, the Suns scored more points in a half than Miami had in its game - 79 - Wednesday against Atlanta.
"You see offensively how devastating we can be," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "The flow's nice."
The Suns were helped the absence of Kings forward Ron Artest, a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He left earlier Wednesday to be with a daughter who was to undergo surgery.
The Kings struggled defensively from the start.
After the Suns missed their second shot of the game, they scored on their next 13 possessions. Their 47-point first quarter, led by Marion's 13 points off perimeter shooting, tied a US Airways Center record set against Miami in January 2006.
The problem was they surrendered more points (38) than in any quarter this season.
"We run so much and they get so many opportunities so they get in the flow also," D'Antoni said. "I guess we live and die by it. Fasten your seat belt, because that's the way it's going to be.
"I'm pretty happy with the way we play and the energy we had after (playing Tuesday night) was nice."
But when the Suns accelerated to 80 by scoring nine points in the final 78 seconds of the half, they had gone where no NBA team had ventured in a decade. It was the highest scoring half since Dallas scored 81 in February 1996 and the most a Suns team had scored in a first half since March 1994 at Washington.
Nash ran the team as if he were calling shots in a game of pool, collecting 12 first-half assists without a turnover.
He set the early tone, making Sacramento pay for sliding Francisco Garcia to point guard. During Tuesday night's victory, the Suns struggled against the 6-foot-7 Garcia at point guard. But on Wednesday, Nash went by Garcia for drives or dishes and shot over switching big men.
Of Phoenix's first 24 points, Nash scored 12 on five consecutive baskets and assisted on four of the other five buckets.
But with 37 first-half points coming from the Kings' backcourt of Garcia and Kevin Martin, the Suns had only an eight-point lead until they closed with that 9-0 flurry.
Things went so well in the first half that Phoenix extended its lead from eight to 19 in the 4 1/2 minutes that Nash rested. Guard Marcus Banks was a big reason.
Banks played so well that he stayed on the floor for a consecutive 16 minutes.
Last edited:
