Suns Survive Scare in Milwaukee, Defeat Bucks for 16th Straight Win
Friday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks should've been a walk in the park for the red-hot Phoenix Suns, winners of their last 15 straight games. Unfortunately, the Bucks had a little more fight in them than Phoenix might have expected and the game was close throughout.
Fortunately for the Suns, they had Raja Bell on their side and his 3-pointer w/ less than a minute left sealed the deal on a 98-90 victory; the Suns 16th straight win. This is the second winning streak of 15 games or more for Phoenix already this year (before the All-Star break), something only the Chicago Bulls have done in the past (twice w/ Michael Jordan).
Bell finished 7-11 from beyond the arc, accruing 27 points in the process to lead the Suns. All 5 Phoenix starters finished in double-figures. Shawn Marion's season high 23 rebounds led the Suns and Steve Nash's 16 assists helped put points on the board.
Surprisingly, it's the Suns defense that probably won this game. Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion played well down the stretch, including a play where Marion blocked a shot and forced a 24-second violation on Milwaukee (less than 2 minutes to play). The block came just after Amare was called for an offensive foul on the other end, resulting in a costly turnover.
Six Milwaukee players scored in double-figures, led by 21 from guard Charlie Bell and 18 from newcomer Earl Boykins.
Both teams sucked from the charity stripe and their FG% weren't that great either. Phoenix hit 13-20 FT (65%) and shot 43% from the field overall; Milwaukee shot 12-21 (57%) from the line and finished w/ a 41% FG percentage overall.
The Suns look to continue their hot streak Sunday afternoon against one of the Eastern Conference's best teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland should have Lebron James back in the lineup; he missed Friday night's game w/ a sore toe.
Other NBA News:
- Jamal Crawford scores 52 pts in a Knicks victory over the Miami Heat. Crawfors overshadowed a 37 point night by Dwyane Wade. Shaq was semi-effective in his 2nd game back.
- Wizards defeat the Pistons; now rule the Eastern Conference.
- Newly acquired Stephen Jackson may miss some games w/ the Warriors; he was found guilty of violating his probation in the gun shooting incident (back in Indiana). The Pacers are happy to have washed their hands of him no doubt.
- Kobe Bryant reaches 18,000 points for his career; youngest player ever to accomplish this task. The next quickest to 18k were Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.