Suns @ Mavericks Game Thread

[sly fly]

Diaw is turning into a "MAX" player.

 

[meth]

mikowhy: good to see another guy from Poland here

Boris Diaw is perfect tonight: triple double with no turnovers!

 

[JS22]

Diaw is turning into a "MAX" player.

shhhhhhhh......

 

[Evil Ash]

Is that good enough D for you guys?

Hell yes, now we if we could only get more consistent at putting that type of defense for at least a half...

 

[devilalum]

That was awesome.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been seeing Cuban's face at the end of the game.

Stupid Oscars.

 

[jibikao]

yyyyyeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ProdigalSun]

Wow wow wow wow wow...what a game! Nash was amazing in the 4th quarter. Diaw what more can you say ...24 pts 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his second triple double. It would've been an easier win if we had played any sort of defense for the first 3 quarters...but this was a great great win.

 

[Chaz]

What a huge defensive effort in the fourth quarter. They cut off the inside points and made the Mavs shoot from the outside.

Barbosa hit his threes to get us back into the game and then Nash and Diaw finished it off.
Marion's rebounding ability allows us to play this style.

This was a nice payback game for opening day.

 

[jibikao]

Diaw has 2nd triple-double!!! Oh yeah baby.

Marion's offense wasn't quite as good but his defense turned up in the 4th quarter.

Barbosa is also the stud tonight offensively.

Eddie House and other bench players were great too, trying to catch up the deficit.

Nash had some crazy shots and we finally finished IT!! I was hoping the game doesn't get as close as 3pt... we probably would have lost.

 

[slinslin]

Diaw = Future Allstar shoe-in.

 

[sly fly]

Hell yes, now we if we could only get more consistent at putting that type of defense for at least a half...

As undermanned as PHX is on the D end... what they do is phenomenal.

Do they give up too many easy buckets? Yeah, sometimes. But, we get just as many (and more) easy buckets.

How many charges, near charges, timely blocks, hands in the passing lane, constant help D on the weak side, help on the bigs does this team have to do night in and night out to start getting respect?

They just dare you to get in a running game. The only chance you have is to hope Nashty is having an off-night OR you take the ball out of his hands.

It's time to start commending this team for playing D when it counts most.

 

[Folster]

Solid game from Tim Thomas. 8 pts. 7 bds. 1 stl. and 1blk. That line looks similar to Kurts average. If he can get 15 and 7 we will be well off.

 

[CaptainInsano]

Diaw, Amare, Nash, and Marion with either Bell, Barbs, House, or Jones (if he can heal up and get going again) having a big game gives me shakes at the possibilities.

Then we have Kurt, Grant, and Tim out there and it is just nasty.

These latest games though prove that Kurt will need to come off the bench and Diaw needs to start when Amare comes back. Diaw starting has worked very well, while if we can save Kurts energy for later we could clamp down on defense and not have lapses in the 4th like we did before.

 

[George O'Brien]

Amazing game. For a while I thought ABC Sports was going to win it for the Mavs with their four minute timeouts that gave the Mavs time to recouperate from the pace. But in the end, the Suns pace got to them - along with much better defensive rotations.

The Mavs are supposed to be a top defensive team, but the Suns shot 54.2% and 45.5% for three. At the same time, while the Mavs have the second best rebounding differential in the NBA, the Suns ended up out rebounding them 38-37 with both Marion and Nash getting 10. Tim Thomas' outside shot wasn't there, but he did get 7 rebounds.

Obviously the Suns need to work on their interior defense, but their play in the fourth quarter was an inspiration.

 

[Amare32]

Solid game from Tim Thomas. 8 pts. 7 bds. 1 stl. and 1blk. That line looks similar to Kurts average. If he can get 15 and 7 we will be well off.

TT was great tonight

 

[mribnik]

I was impressed with Tim Thomas tonight. His defense wasn't anything to brag about, but I'm willing to give him a chance until his conditioning gets better. However, he had 7 rebounds and took the ball to the hole a few times, which we could desperately use. Also, pretty impressive that we outrebounded the Mavs today, 38-37.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I was impressed with Tim Thomas tonight. His defense wasn't anything to brag about, but I'm willing to give him a chance until his conditioning gets better. However, he had 7 rebounds and took the ball to the hole a few times, which we could desperately use. Also, pretty impressive that we outrebounded the Mavs today, 38-37.

I was impressed with TT as well.

He is bigger than I expected. 6-10 with some girth.
He is more of a power player than advertised.
He is more aggressive--offensively--than I expected.
He also has tremedous agility and speed.

This is a rare combination of abilities. I can see why Milwaukee wanted to lock him up with a long term max deal. I don't know what happened to allow him to under achieve (didn't he play under Larry Brown in Philly, that will do it to anyone).

He had a drive to the hoop and right handed jam (from the left side) that was a very aggressive powerful move.

He also was aggressive on the board. Nice surprise.

His defense is as atrocious as advertised.

 

[slinslin]

I was impressed with TT as well.

He is bigger than I expected. 6-10 with some girth.
He is more of a power player than advertised.
He is more aggressive--offensively--than I expected.
He also has tremedous agility and speed.

This is a rare combination of abilities. I can see why Milwaukee wanted to lock him up with a long term max deal. I don't know what happened to allow him to under achieve (didn't he play under Larry Brown in Philly, that will do it to anyone).

He had a drive to the hoop and right handed jam (from the left side) that was a very aggressive powerful move.

He also was aggressive on the board. Nice surprise.

His defense is as atrocious as advertised.

That's because he is out of shape and overweight right now.

See the drive to the basket, TT in shape should have dunked that one but he couldn't get up.

 

[Wally]

Great game, considering the outcome!
In another thread I said something like keep it close until close to the end and then play defense for the last two minuets. Since it appears to be working, I'm beginning to think this is not a bad idea at all. The opposing team has been lulled into a false sense of security, knowing they can score easily and at will. Then we turn on the defense, and with our ability to score, we take the game in the last two minutes.

I think several calls & non-calls went in favor of Dallas and I really admire the grit this team has in not giving up; perhaps the officials provide some incentive for their play.

Nash for MVP repeat!

 

[Chaz]

Mavs fans crack me up.

The excuses continue. Shorthanded, the refs are against us, etc.

Their problem is they think the Mavs are so much better than the Suns and they can't figure out how they lose to them. I think it drives them nuts.

 

[slinslin]

And we all know the one team that is most likely to not win it all among the so called contenders is D Allas.

 

[George O'Brien]

Mavs fans crack me up.

The excuses continue. Shorthanded, the refs are against us, etc.

Their problem is they think the Mavs are so much better than the Suns and they can't figure out how they lose to them. I think it drives them nuts.

Dallas has a $96.7 million payroll and lose to the Suns on their home court.

One of the problems that people have in understanding the Suns is that they look at the team's roster rather than watch their games.

Nash - Used to be a Mav and he wasn't clutch for them

Marion - 6'7" guy with no one-on-one moves

Diaw - Barely played with the Hawks last season

Bell - Used to be a Mav and wasn't a big deal. Started less than 30 games last season for the very weak Jazz.

House - Six teams in six years

Jones - Who?

Barbosa - Not much his first two years

Tim Thomas - Cut by the woeful Bulls after being traded for in a salary dump

In a sport where everyone focuses on stars, it is hard for many people to "get" what this team is about. The usual response is that Nash and D'Antoni must be geniuses because this roster isn't filled with "name" players.

IMHO, whatever else has been said, the Suns have a lot more talent than they are given credit for. However, what is better is that they play as a team.

 

[Chaz]

However, whatever else has been said, the Suns have a lot more talent than they are given credit for. However, what is better is that they play as a team.

I think you nailed it.

The Mavs are the biggest one-on-one team in the league. The Suns are the most team oriented.

When successful, the Suns force them to create and pass and they aren't used to it.

On the other side it is hard to stop the Suns offense when you don't know from minute to minute who will hurt you next.


Suns don't have great defenders but somehow, as a team, they manage to force teams out of their comfort zone.

 

[sunsfn]

Diaw's triple-double leads Suns past Mavericks

Team Stat Comparison
PHOENIX DALLAS
Points115 107
FG Made-Attempted
Performers PHOENIX DALLAS

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B. Diaw
Points: 24
Reb: 10
Ast: 10
Stl: 0
Blk: 0

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D. Nowitzki
Points: 25
Reb: 9
Ast: 5
Stl: 0
Blk: 1

Game Leaders
PHOENIX
DALLAS

Points
S. Nash 25
D. Nowitzki 25
Rebounds
B. Diaw 10
E. Dampier 11
Assists
S. Nash 11
D. Nowitzki 5
Steals
S. Marion 4
J. Terry 2
Blocks
S. Marion 2
E. Dampier 2


DALLAS (AP) -- After completing his second career triple-double, Phoenix Suns center Boris Diaw credited his defense for his strong play.
Diaw had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and helped limit Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki to three points in the fourth quarter as the Suns extended their winning streak to a season-high 10 games with a 115-107 victory over the Mavericks on Sunday.
"Right now the best part of my game is my defense," said the 6-foot-8 Diaw, who had his hands full guarding the 7-0 Nowitzki. "I'm always guarding players who are bigger and stronger so I try to use my quickness."
Steve Nash had 25 points and 11 assists, Shawn Marion had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Leandro Barbosa scored 20 points to help the Suns end the Mavericks' club-record 16-game home winning streak.
Nowitzki had 25 points and nine rebounds, but went 1-for-5 from the field in the final quarter.
"They adjusted and double-teamed me," Nowitzki said. "I've got to do a better job finding the open man. More than anything, we know now we need a little more consistency for longer stretches."
Marquis Daniels added 22 points and Jason Terry had 21 points for the Mavericks, who have lost two of three after winning 19 of 20. The two recent losses have come against Western Conference powers San Antonio and Phoenix.
"We can't panic," Daniels said. "We still feel confident of where we are. All good things must come to an end. We've got to start a new (home winning streak)."
Five consecutive points from Diaw put the Suns ahead for good at 102-100 with 4:07 left. Barbosa's layup with 2:57 left and Nash's 3-pointer with 2:25 remaining extended the lead to 107-100.
Dallas got within 109-107 on Terry's 3-pointer with 1:01 left.
However, Marion converted a layup, Raja Bell and Nash hit two free throws each and the Suns finished the game with a 27-12 spurt over the final 8:31.
Barbosa, Tim Thomas and Eddie House came off the bench to outscore Dallas' reserves 16-2 in the fourth quarter, helping the Suns rally from a 13-point third-quarter deficit.
"Our energy was great in the fourth quarter," Nash said. "The second unit ... came in and gave us a big lift. We had greater activity, primarily defensively. We made a lot of plays and played a lot stickier, scrapped a little more."
Dallas was without Josh Howard (hamstring), Keith Van Horn (sprained knee) and Devin Harris (thigh). Van Horn will be out for at least two weeks while Howard and Harris are listed as day-to-day.
Mavericks coach Avery Johnson had to go deeper into his bench, starting Daniels and giving seldom-used Darrell Armstrong 11 minutes.
"Guys get hurt and other guys have got to pull their weight and pick up the slack," Dallas' Adrian Griffin said. "We don't make excuses. Obviously we are better when everyone is healthy."
Phoenix remains without injured inside players Amare Stoudemire (knee), Kurt Thomas (foot stress fracture) and Brian Grant (knee).
Dallas closed the first half with a 13-4 run for a 62-51 lead at the break.
The Mavericks held a 42-20 edge in points in the paint in the first half, but the Suns had a 28-26 inside scoring advantage in the second half. Dallas finished with a season-high 68 points in the paint.Game notes
Diaw's other triple-double came on Jan. 31 against Philadelphia. Diaw finished one assist shy of another triple-double in his previous game against Orlando. ... Mavericks owner Mark Cuban watched the first quarter in a tuxedo rather than in his customary jeans and T-shirt before leaving via private jet for the Academy Awards in Hollywood. A movie produced by Cuban, "Good Night and Good Luck," was up for six nominations. ... Nowitzki has 12,605 career points, moving past Derek Harper for third most in franchise history.

 

[devilalum]

Tim Thomas, 8 points, 7 boards and 21 minutes. Aren't these KT's averages?