Paul and the Hornets come back to beat the Suns 118-112
(AP Photo/Roy Dabner) The Suns continue to struggle against the Western Conference’s top teams as they lost 118-112 to the Hornets, last night at the US Airways Center. Phoenix had its recent 4-game winning streak halted with the loss.
Phoenix is 0-2 vs New Orleans, 0-2 vs the Lakers, 0-1 vs Dallas, 0-1 vs Golden State with the only win against a “top” team coming in San Antonio (with the Spurs playing without Tony Parker).
Is that a cause of unhappines despite the fact the Suns are leading their Division with one of the best record in the Conference? It could well be the case, I think.
The Hornets, led by the excellent Chris Paul (28 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds and only 1 turnover), kept coming at the Suns all night: running the floor, fighting for the ball, going to the boards.
“They made nice shots. They made big plays. We didn’t make the big plays” commented coach D’Antoni after the game.
Each of the Hornets starters scored at least 19 points led by Stojakovic with 23 points and Mo Peterson with 22 including a very good 5-of-6 from downtown.
New Orleans grabbed 15 offensive rebounds (scoring over 20 points on second-chances) and lost the basketball just eight times in the game, but above all, made plays when it mattered. Phoenix led for the first three quarters (93-90 after 36 minutes) of the game but in the end it was the Hornets making big plays to secure the win.
The Suns shot a very good 53% (41-for-77) led by Nash (23 points, 9-of-14 from the field, 11 assists), Barbosa (28 points, 11-of-19), Hill (17 points) and Stoudemire (17 points, 8 rebounds). Leandrinho played over 37 minutes in the game as Raja Bell was sent home after just 2 minutes in the contest because of flu symptons.
New Orleans is for real and the Hornets need to be considered a serious contender as they are now 23-11 (8-2 in the last ten games) and 14-5 on the road. The Hornets’ 17 wins against the Western teams is the Conference’s highest.
The Suns (23-10) remain two game above the Lakers in the Pac 5 and will now play the Denver in Phoenix on Monday Night (7 PM). The Nuggets (20-12) are one of the best teams in the West, but have been struggling a bit on the road thios season.
Yours truly, Steve Fan
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Posted by Steve Fan
Blogger and Steve Nash enthusiast. Don't get in his way, he'll MVP your ass.
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