Phoenix Suns Blog – Page 59 – NBA Blog

Game 6: Celtics eliminate Magic

The AP reports:

One title has never been enough.

Not for the Boston Celtics.

The league’s most-decorated franchise avoided the biggest playoff collapse in NBA history and earned a chance to hang an unprecedented 18th championship banner from the rafters, beating Orlando 96-84 on Friday night to eliminate the Magic in six games and advance to the NBA finals…

Paul Pierce had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and little-used backup Nate Robinson gave the Celtics a boost with 13 second-quarter points to squelch Orlando’s attempt to be the first NBA team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series.

Ray Allen scored 20 points, Rajon Rondo had 14 points and six assists and Garnett, who missed the playoffs last year with a knee injury, added 10 points for Boston…

“Those guys played like they wanted to win the championship the whole series,” said Dwight Howard, who had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the defending East champions. “That’s why they’re in the position they’re in now.”

Vince Carter scored 17 points, and Jameer Nelson finished with 11 points and four assists as he was outplayed by Rondo, Boston’s starting point guard, and Robinson, his backup.

The Boston Herald reports:

Howard, deprived of his downtown support, again discovered that a big scoring night (28 points) wasn’t enough. Only two other Magic players – Vince Carter (a belabored 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting) and Jameer Nelson (11 points, only three assists) – reached double figures.

“Next year we’ve got to have guys that are willing to give everything they’ve got to get wins,” Howard said. “In games like this or a series like this, it’s not about skill or talent, because it’s the Eastern Conference championship. Both teams were talented and skilled. It’s about who wants it most and who is willing to do it for a series.

“Those guys played like they wanted to win the championship the whole series. That’s why they’re in the position they’re in now.”

The Boston Herald reports:

In eight explosive minutes and 46 seconds, Robinson poured in 13 points and hounded Magic point guard Jameer Nelson into all but disappearing from the game, a circumstance that had much to do with his team disappearing from the playoffs.

As Robinson ran wild, Rondo was on his back in front of the bench, an ice bag strapped to his aching hip, and he cheered as Robinson shot 4-of-7 from the field to push an early Celtics lead up to 21 and keep it at 19 by the time he came back to the bench with just over four minutes left in the half.

“They actually made their big run with Rondo sitting on the bench,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I’m not up here saying they’re a better team without Rajon Rondo, but tonight they were in the first half. Nate Robinson was great. In an absolutely huge game he stepped up and played great.”

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

Coach Stan Van Gundy pointed to his team giving up 20 fastbreak points and being impatient when shots didn’t drop. “Our offense hurt us. We broke down,” he said.

Orlando did make a mini-run. A 3-pointer by Carter trimmed Boston’s lead to 14, and he then made a free throw to give the Magic some hope at halftime.

The Celtics quickly squashed any rally in the third quarter as they stole a page from the Magic’s playbook. Ray Allen hit two 3-pointers, replenishing the lead to 19. Boston nailed 10 3-pointers in 22 attempts while Orlando made just 6-of-22.

Game 5: Artest buzzer-beater, Lakers beat Suns

The AP reports:

Game 5: Artest scores at buzzer, Lakers beat Suns

Ron Artest banked home the winning shot after grabbing the biggest offensive rebound of his career, nudging the Lakers past the Phoenix Suns 103-101 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 series lead.

Kobe Bryant had 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, but the improbable hero of Game 5 is the only new player on their roster. Bryant and Artest wrapped each other in a bear hug after Artest homed in on Bryant’s miss and threw up a hideous shot that somehow went in…

Artest’s basket completed a 2-for-9 shooting night redeemed by one supremely heady offensive rebound. Moments earlier, Jason Richardson banked in a straightaway 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left to tie it for the Suns…

Phoenix clawed back from an 18-point deficit in the second half with a superb game by Steve Nash, who had 29 points and 11 assists. After Richardson’s accidental tying bank shot, the Lakers went to Bryant, whose miss went straight to Artest…

Lamar Odom had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who led 101-96 with 90 seconds to play before Nash hit another jumper and Artest missed twice, the home crowd yelling in frustration with each open brick…

Derek Fisher scored 22 points and Gasol had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who rebounded from consecutive losses in Phoenix with their best defensive performance of the series, forcing 15 turnovers and holding Phoenix to mediocre shooting—yet the Suns still came agonizingly close to handing Los Angeles its first home loss of the postseason.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Staples Center had fallen silent after Jason Richardson banked in a three-pointer with 3.5 seconds left, not long after practically the entire crowd begged Artest to stop shooting when he missed two open looks from the left side near the one-minute mark.

But then Artest, of all people, maligned much of the season as Lakers fans pined for Trevor Ariza, carved out the franchise’s latest slice of playoff lore with an improbable play against the Phoenix Suns.

Bryant’s herky-jerky three-point attempt missed badly from the right side with 2.5 seconds left, but Artest beat Richardson to the airball and put in an off-balance follow that banked in as time expired, giving the Lakers a 103-101 victory Thursday in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals…

The Suns trailed by 18 in the third quarter as Bryant continued to scorch them on the way to 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

But the Suns rallied behind a four-point play by Jared Dudley and trailed going into the fourth quarter, 78-72.

After Richardson’s three-pointer, the Suns were hoping they did enough to force overtime.

Lakers bench must step up vs Suns

Janis Carr of the Orange County Register reports (via blog):

“The bench was fantastic.”

When was the last time anyone said that about the Lakers’ reserves? It’s been a while.

Certainly no one was talking up the Lakers’ bench after the accounted for 20 points (15 from Lamar Odom) in Tuesday’s 115-106 defeat in Game 4 that evened the Western Conference finals at two games a piece.

When asked if he thought his bench “got smoked”, Phil Jackson seemed to think it wasn’t all that bad.

“Well, it wasn’t a Cohiba, I’ll tell you that,” the Lakers coach said, referring to a Cuban-brand cigar.

Game 4: With bench power, Suns beat Lakers

The AP reports:

Channing Frye broke out of a horrendous shooting slump by making four 3-pointers for 14 points, and the Suns pulled away in the fourth quarter for the second game in a row to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115-106 on Tuesday night and tie the Western Conference finals at two games apiece…

The Suns reserves, considered an advantage entering the series but largely ineffective through three games, outscored their Laker counterparts 54-20. Leandro Barbosa scored 14 on 6-of-8 shooting and Jared Dudley added 11 points. Goran Dragic ran the show at point and had eight points and eight assists in 18 minutes…

Game 4: With bench power, Suns beat Lakers

Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 21 points. Steve Nash, playing with a broken nose, had 15 points and eight assists.

Bryant had 38 points and 10 assists as the reigning NBA champions fought back to lead briefly early in the fourth before the Suns backups stole the show…

After slugging out a 23-23 first quarter, the Suns erupted for a series-high 41-point second quarter, shooting 74 percent (17 for 23), 7 of 10 on 3-pointers to go up 64-55 at the half—and the backups led the way.

2010 NBA Finals schedule

The 2010 NBA Finals schedule is now official.

Of course, we don’t actually know which teams are playing in it. The Celtics currently lead the Magic 3 games to 1, while the Lakers and Suns are tied at 2 games apiece.I think we’ll see a Lakers-Celtics championship round.

But, the actual times and dates of the finals are confirmed.

See the schedule here.

Steve Nash has broken nose, will keep playing

Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash this morning was seen by Suns general otolaryngology doctor (ear, nose and throat), Dr. Ryan Rehl. Nash was diagnosed with a minimally displaced nasal fracture with displaced cartilage. He will undergo a minor reduction, putting the nose back in place, later today.

Nash will practice with the team today and will not miss any time.

Nash suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Suns’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals Sunday at US Airways Center.

Tickets for the Phoenix Suns’ next home game of the 2010 Western Conference Finals on Tue., May 25, have sold out.

Game 3: Stoudemire scores 42, Suns beat Lakers

The AP reports:

Amar’e Stoudemire matched his career playoff high with 42 points, 29 in the second half, and grabbed 11 rebounds to power the Phoenix Suns to a 118-109 victory Sunday night that cut the Los Angeles Lakers’ lead in the series to 2-1…

Robin Lopez, whose 7-foot presence gave the Suns some much-needed toughness inside, scored 20 on 8-of-10 shooting in 31 minutes, by far his most playing time since returning from a back injury at the start of the series. Phoenix made 37-of-42 free throws, 14 of 18 by Stoudemire. The Lakers were 16 of 20 at the line…

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports (via blog):

The Lakers’ primary area of dominance — the paint — was muted by Phoenix’s zone. The points in the paint were 44 for the Lakers and 40 for the Suns. The Lakers took 32 3-point shots — a franchise playoff record — and made just nine (28 percent).

The Lakers tied the franchise playoff record by taking 31 3-point shots in their April 22 loss at Oklahoma City. They made 10 3-pointers that game (32 percent). The Lakers are 0-3 in the three playoff games in which they took 31 3-point shots, and now they’ve lost shooting 32 also.

Also hurting the Lakers’ cause inside was early foul trouble first for Andrew Bynum and then for Lamar Odom. Neither one wound up sustaining an effort, with Odom fouling out after making a series of poor decisions in the fourth quarter. He appeared bothered by a sore right side after driving into traffic in the first half and not getting a foul call.

InsideHoops.com notes:

Both teams shot a similar field goal percentage, and both were off from three-point range, though the Lakers tossed up way more from outside. The shooting stat that matters most is the free throw category: Suns 37-of-42, Lakers 16-of-20. Isn’t homecourt fun sometimes? Also, the Lakers committed 17 turnovers; the Suns just seven.

Steve Nash had 17 points and 15 assists. He brought it.

Ron Artest and Lamar Odom tossed up bricks, including lots of bad misses from three-point range.

NBA fines Mark Cuban, Steve Kerr for violating anti-tampering rules

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $100,000 for public comments made in violation of the NBA’s anti-tampering rules, it was announced today by Joel Litvin, NBA President of League and Basketball Operations. Cuban’s comments were made during an online interview that ran on May 18.

Phoenix Suns President of Basketball Operations Steve Kerr has been fined $10,000, also for public comments made in violation of the anti-tampering rules. Kerr’s comments were made on a radio show on May 14.

Ron Artest cannot explain shooting improvement

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Ron Artest managed to hit three three-point attempts in Game 2 and was six for nine from the field in scoring 18 points, a slight uptick from his Game 1 performance of 14 points.

There is, apparently, no explanation for his enhanced shooting.

“I’m not sure. I have no clue. I really don’t. I really don’t,” Artest said. “. . . All I do is shoot it. . . . I don’t know what it’s doing.”

More shooting practice in the gym?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I shoot a lot every day. When I was going 0 for 10 or whenever that was, I was in here shooting.”

Back to his comfort level with the triangle offense: Artest managed to get off a good line about his teammates.

“There are still guys that don’t know the triangle and they’ve been here longer than me,” he said, looking amused.

Wife gives Channing Frye pep talk

The Arizona Republic reports:

The pep talk came on the flight back from Los Angeles, and it set Channing Frye straight.

“I got an earful on the plane from my wife, man, but it was all positive,” the Suns’ center said Friday. “She’s like, ‘Just think about how far you’ve come and have some fun. . . . This is not you. This is not who you are. You’re supposed to be this and that. You’re showing everybody else wrong. Imagine if our kid was here now. How would you want him to act?’ “

That made Frye, whose wife is expecting their first child in October, realize he’s making mountains out of molehills. Through two games of the Western Conference finals, this has not been his series. A consistent long-rang shooter throughout the regular season, Frye has made just 1 of 13 against the Lakers. He played only 8 minutes, 39 seconds in Game 2, a season low.