Suns go down to hot shooting Gilbert Arenas & Wizards
The Suns, who arrived to Friday night's matchup w/ the Wizards only 2 hrs before tipoff, put up a valiant effort to keep their winning streak intact. Stuck in Denver because of weather conditions for almost 2 days, the Suns had very little time to recoup and get ready for their matchup w/ the Wizards - and it showed.
Steve Nash was incredible (again) for Phoenix and almost won the game at the end of regulation, but his 3-pointer missed - so did Marion and Stoudemire's follow up attempts.
Gilbert Arenas, who vowed to prove to Jerry Colangelo and Mike D'Antoni that he deserved to be on the USA Basketball's World Championship squad this summer, scored 54 points - his second game over 50 in the last week (he scored 60 against the Lakers earlier in the week). Before the game, Arenas stated his goal to reach 50 - without the OT session, however, Arenas would've fallen short by a couple points. His leadership and clutch shooting throughout the game and overtime session helped Washington end Phoenix's 15 game winning streak. This marked the 2nd time this year that the Wizards have ended winning streaks over 10 games (the ended Dallas' 11 game streak earlier in the month).
Amare Stoudemire wasn't particularly sharp or effective, but he still managed a double-double. In addition to his 42 points, Nash also added 12 assists, but it wasn't enough to get the victory. Shawn Marion added a strong 28 pts and 13 rbs, but was unable to shutdown Gilbert Arenas (buy Gilbert Arenas' jersey) late in the game and in OT. Don't fault Shawn though - he played tough defense. It's Arenas who should get all the credit for his performance against one of the league's top defenders.
The Suns will try to start a new winning streak Tuesday at home against the Portland Trailblazers.