Phoenix Suns Blow 'Super Bowl', Lose to Mavs 122-117
Many Phoenix Suns fans will awaken tomorrow to an emotion many have not felt on Planet Orange in quite some time—hopelessness.
The Suns blew their opportunity to make a late-season playoff-push, losing to the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night at the U.S. Airways Center. The Suns started the evening four games behind Dallas for the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference, with 19 games to play.
The Suns lost a critical game, which Grant Hill termed their “Super Bowl.”
A win would’ve cut Dallas’s lead to three games, with one remaining head-to-head match-up with the Suns.
Instead, the loss meant the Suns are now five games back of Dallas with 18 games to play.
Phoenix has a much easier remaining schedule than Dallas, but that hardly matters now, with Dallas’s lead looking even more insurmountable.
While still mathematically in contention, it would take nothing short of a miracle for the Suns to reach the playoffs.
Down the stretch the Suns looked sloppy, unable to get good shots. The shots they did hit appeared to be more accidental than planned execution.
Steve Nash hit the floor several times; in once instance he lost the ball, but was able to deflect the loose ball in the direction of a teammate resulting in a lucky layup.
Once again the Suns were unable to get stops late, or early for that matter, in the fourth quarter. Dirk Nowitzki went off, scoring 23 of his game-high 34 points in the second half.
When it wasn’t Dirk, it was former Sun, Jason Kidd, who hit two big three-pointers in the closing minutes of the game to seel the deal for Dallas.
Nash was once again unable to keep up with another young point guard. This time it was Jose Juan Barea taking advantage of Nash and getting the Mavs off to a hot start, scoring eight of his 16 points in the first quarter.
Nash had a big game offensively once again; recording 23 points and 13 assists on the night, but was unable to get free off of screens late in the game.
Shaquille O’Neal was 9-10 from the field for 21 points, but missed two big free-throws with 4:16 remaining in the fourth quarter. The free throws could’ve cut Dallas’s nine-point lead to a more manageable seven-point deficit.
Former Arizona star, Jason Terry contributed 25 points off the bench for Dallas.
Hope for sustaining life on Planet Orange now appears bleaker than ever, with dark days ahead for its remaining citizens.
