Suns Win 1st Game of Doubleheader vs. Nuggets

Denver Nuggets

Wow!  What a game against the Denver Nuggets in Phoenix last night.  The Suns pulled off their 3rd best "come from behind" in team history last night against Denver.  Trailing by 22 pts in the 3rd quarter, the Phoenix Suns mounted a furious comeback to take the lead and defeat the Nuggets.  The win also put Phoenix over 50 wins for the 4th consecutive year; the team is now tied with the LA Lakers for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

There was a lot of praise to go around after the game.  Coach D'Antoni said everyone that played contributed in a huge way and the win is a result of their combined efforts.  The defense improved (not that much) and the team played very well offensively late in the game.  Amare Stoudemire seemed to have his will against Kenyon Martin and Najera, repeatedly beating them for layups and dunks.  STAT finished with 41 pts and 14 rebounds - a great effort!

Shaq, Boris, Raja and Barbosa all played solid, but the resurgence can be largely attributed to Steve Nash.  After receiving a blow to the head by the Nuggets' Anthony Carter, Nash seemed to respond and take over the game.  He made some great passes and hit a few threes that helped Phoenix take the lead and eventually get the win.

It was also nice to see Diaw more aggressive on offense.  He has the skills to be a bigger scorer for the team, but he always seems to defer.  Last night, he hit several shots and drove to the rim for sweet tear drop floater in the 4th quarter.  If he can keep this up, the Suns will excel in the playoffs, as they did the year Amare was out w/ his knee injury.

The loss pushed Denver out of the playoffs by 1/2 game, but they'll get a chance to regain that game tonight against the Suns - this time in Denver.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the Nuggets make some adjustments and dominate this game.  I don't see the Suns shooting as well in the back-2-back game, nor do I think Denver will allow Amare to control the paint.  Hopefully, D'Antoni and his staff can make adjustments of their own and help the team get the win.

Published Tuesday, April 01, 2008 2:44 PM by chowell
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Comments

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 7:11 AM by Alan

# re: Suns Win 1st Game of Doubleheader vs. Nuggets

It is a nice game. There are a back to back game today. Nugget win 126-120. Do you think that they can go in to the Playoff?

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 2:40 PM by chowell

# re: Suns Win 1st Game of Doubleheader vs. Nuggets

The Nuggets have a tough road ahead to make the playoffs, as do the Warriors and Mavericks.

Dallas is close to getting Nowitzki back, although he won't be playing tonight.  They have a couple tough games including the Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Hornets and Warriors.  Of course, they have some gimmies as well in the Supersonics (twice) and against Portland.

The Warriors face the Mavs, Hornets, Nuggets and Suns, w/ gimmies against the Grizzlies, Kings, Clippers and Supersonics.

The Nuggets have remaining; Warriors, Jazz and Rockets.  Gimmies include Kings, Supersonics, Clippers, Grizzlies.

I see the Mavs finishing 4-4, Warriors finishing 6-1 (or 6-2), and the Nuggets finishing 5-2.  Of course, this puts the Mavs out of the playoffs.

Monday, April 14, 2008 4:28 PM by chowell

# re: Suns Win 1st Game of Doubleheader vs. Nuggets

Looks like I was wrong... Mavs clinched a playoff berth late last week, while the Nuggets appear close to securing their spot.  The Warriors have struggled and look like the odd-team out.