Suns Outlast Pacers in Close Finish - Win 3rd Straight
The Phoenix Suns defeated the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night in an early game, 121-117. After losing to the Rockets last week, the Suns have recovered and won 3 straight, including a quality win over the much improved Orlando Magic, another over the Knicks and now the third over the Pacers.
Amare Stoudemire was on fire for the Suns, but they needed a late 3-pointer by Steve Nash and some clutch free throw shooting to hold off the new-look, uptempo Pacers. STAT finished w/ 42 pts and 13 rbs, while Nash finished with 18 pts and 17 assists. Shawn Marion also contributed w/ his typical double-double - Grant Hill and Raja Bell also contributed double figures in scoring.
Phoenix only used an 8 man rotation, which could come back to bite them Wednesday night when they take on the Toronto Raptors. They will also play another doubleheader this weekend against the Wizards and Timberwolves. Marcus Banks didn't get in the game - my feeling is that this is a bad sign early in the season. D'Antoni cannot continue to play Nash so many minutes or he's going to breakdown too early in the playoffs (or before them).
Sad Twist
I honestly feel bad for former Suns player and current Knick Stephon Marbury, who's father died during the Suns-Knicks game the other day. While Marbury has made an ass out of himself on the court (& leaving his team), he didn't deserve not to be told about his father's hospitalization at hafltime. To make matters worse, coach Isiah Thomas apparently withheld the information for more than 45 minutes after the game. If all of the story is true, the Knicks organization is truly screwed up... No Class.