Suns-Spurs Game Four Running Diary

OK.......here goes. A running diary of Game Four. I have a REALLY good feeling about it. No way will the Suns die this easily. Here goes...

Note: I know Bill Simmons does these a lot, but so do other sports writers. Plus, imitation is the highest form of flattery, and finally, he never does these on Suns games. Back to the running diary.

Tip-off – Um . . . I didn’t see it. ABC was still showing the end of the Cavs-Wizards series (Game Four), which ended in thrilling fashion as Delonte West made a CLUTCH 3-pointer with only 5 seconds left. NICE!!!!

9:56 left, 1st quarter – Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand we cut to the Suns game. It’s 5-1 Suns, and the crowd is deafening. A good sign, but it’s early.

9:37, 1st quarter – Bell makes another one. Just found out that the score is Raja Bell 7, Spurs 1.

8:53 (1) – Shaq makes a layup. 9-1 Suns. Good hustle and smart shooting so far, but again, it’s early.

6:43 (1) – Nash makes a jumper. Now every Suns starter has scored. I am in a great mood so far . . .

3:44 (1) – Stevie Nash nails a 3-pointer. It’s now 24-9. This is good. . .

3:31 (1) – Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand now they start Hack-a-Shaq. What the heck, man? They seriously need to add Intentional Foul calls to the NBA like they have in college and high-school. This away from the ball fouling is ridiculous. But, on a good note, Shaq sticks it to them by making both free throws.

0:57 (1) – WOW! A thunderous dunk by Shaq puts the Suns up 34-13! DUDE!

Note: Sunday Night the Arizona Sports Fanatic found out that this lead was the largest first quarter lead in Suns Playoff History, and it was also the largest first quarter deficit in Spurs Playoff History. Back to the diary.

10:45 (2) – Balki (Ginobili) makes an EASY driving layup. Um, defense? What happened to that tenacious defense from the first quarter?

10:00 (2) – Diaw makes a nice low post move but misses. Nice try, but you’re not 7'1", Boris. . .

9:32 (2) – Duncan dunks on Brian Skinner. Matador defense yet again. GUYS! YOU HAVE TO GO FOR THE JUGULAR AGAINST THE SPURS! They’re like a vampire. They don’t die! By the way, the Suns just took timeout. FINALLY!

9:01 (2) – Skinner blocks a weak Duncan layup attempt. While Duncan throws a tantrum, thinking it’s goaltending, Barbosa goes down and nearly makes a difficult layup, but he’s fouled by Brent Barry, who’s slow to get up. Leandro made both free throws. 36-19 Suns. Can we find out when Tim Duncan's last technical foul was?

8:30 (2) – After a Duncan layup, Raja drills a 3. Me likey!

7:58 (2) – After another Duncan layup, Shaq grabs an O-rebound and gets fouled on the putback attempt. 3 on Oberto. Shaq makes the first but misses the second. 40-23.

7:39 (2) – Bell is ON FIRE. He drills another 3. 43-25 Suns.

7:26 (2) – Shaq is called for defensive 3-seconds. Am I the only one who thinks that defensive 3-seconds is a completely ridiculous rule?

7:12 (2) – I missed this the first time, but thanks to my wife’s keen observation skills, I backed up the TiVo and caught it. As the camera showed a close-up of Raja Bell, in the background, we see Gregg Popovich sitting down, but he partially missed the chair and nearly fell on his butt. High comedy.

5:30 (2) – Raja Bell makes another ridiculous layup. He’s scored 15 now. Boy is he ON today! 47-33 Suns.

5:25 (2) – Okay that falling layup by Parker was absurd. Wow. I still hate him, but WOW. 47-35 Suns.

5:15 (2) – During the commercial break during a Spurs timeout, they showed one of those cool split-face commercials. This one had Balki and Nash. One of the ugliest split-screens I’ve ever seen. Yikes.

4:45 (2) – After a flop by Raja Bell, Announcer (and former Rockets coach) Jeff Van Gundy makes an impassioned plea for the league to curb flopping. I agree with it, but seriously. . .say it after Balki does it. Please. He’s the worst one in the league. What befuddles me is that the announcers don’t know how to solve it. I’ve got an idea. Do what high school and college does. Make it a technical foul! It’s an unsportsmanlike act, which by definition is a technical foul. Would anyone else be against this?

3:46 (2) – Balki is CLEARLY standing out of bounds when he catches a pass from Duncan, which the official of course is right on top of. And, of course, he whines and complains about it. Does this guy EVER get teed up? Of course not. But, of course, “the Spurs are a class organization,” according to virtually every media outlet in North America. Will the media EVER stop singing these guys’ praises? Will they wake up?

3:33 (2) – In one of the stranger plays I’ve seen in a while, Diaw makes a beautiful 6-foot jump hook as the horn went off(?!?), even though there were still 11 seconds left on the shot clock.

3:07 (2) – Balki fouls Raja, sending him to the line for two bonus free throws. After Raja makes the first free throw, Gregg “I Missed My Chair and Nearly Took a Seat on the Floor” Popovich calls timeout. 56-37 Suns. This is NICE!

1:55 (2) – After an insanely ugly miss by Tim Duncan, Raja Bell goads Tony Parker into fouling him and then makes both free throws. Why didn’t he play like this before today? I’m still loving it right now though. 59-37 Suns.

1:48 (2) – The horn goes off again in the middle of a play, this time in the middle of a Spurs possession. What is going on here?

1:39 (2) – Amare swats a Robert Horry shot attempt, which Nash comes up with and zips to Raja Bell, who makes another layup. 61-37 Suns. Biggest lead of the series for them. Woo hoo!

1:01 (2) – Bowen was complaining to an official as a timeout came up. Shaq went over and told him something, then started walking to the bench. Bowen still was jawing, and got teed up. Yes! Wait. . . Shaq too? What did he . . . Huh? Is there some law in the NBA that says anytime a Suns opponent gets a tech, the Suns have to also? This is ridiculous. Oh well. Suns are still up 21.

0:38 (2) – Parker drives to the hoop, jumps into Amare, hits Amare in the head with the ball, and yet the foul is on Amare. I give up. I will never understand this wretched NBA officiating. And this is coming from a guy who officiated high school basketball for seven years, and will defend officials like crazy.

0:07 (2) – After Brian Skinner clobbers Tony Parker, Parker only makes 1 of 2 free throws. Nash goes to the other end, makes a beautiful move, but blows the layup. Oh well. Suns are still up 65-43 at the half, with Raja scoring 21 points. This is crazy. What a half by Raja! The best part is, if you take away the points he scored in that half, the Suns would still be up 1. Wow!

11:43 (3) – Shaq starts the half in great defensive form, blocking a Tim Duncan layup.

11:22 (3) – Shaq makes a layup on the other end, giving the Suns a 67-43 lead. This game is starting to remind me of Game 6 of the 2001 World Series, in which the D-Backs clobbered the Yankees.

10:11 (3) – As Amare dunks on Michael Finley, putting the Suns up 26 (69-43), I’m starting to wonder if this game can be a momentum-shifting game for the series. Wouldn’t that be something?

8:18 (3) – Take a guess which Spurs’ player did this: he dove for a loose ball, intentionally kicked the ball, got called for it, and then jumped up and started complaining about it. Yes, Balki’s soccer roots from Argentina have surfaced again. I really hate Ginobili. I mean, Balki.

7:40 (3) – Duncan makes both free throws after getting fouled by Shaq. 73-47 Suns. And the Spurs have only scored four points in the quarter so far.

7:07 (3) – I just finished typing that sentence as Diaw nailed a 17-foot jumper. Timeout Spurs. Suns lead 75-47. I’d say this is getting ridiculous, but I really despise the Spurs. Let’s make it a 30-point game!!!!!! Did I mention that the Suns are playing GREAT defense (overall)?

6:35 (3) – Diaw makes another spinning layup from the low post. He’s having a ridiculous game, too. 77-49, Suns.

5:50 (3) – A Nash jumper makes it a 79-49 Suns lead. YES!!!! 30!!!

4:40 (3) – Poor Brian Skinner got all excited to throw down a major, earth-shattering dunk . . . and then put it off the front of the rim.

3:47 (3) – Even though I hate Tony Parker, I must admit that the guy gets beat up out there. He just got cracked in the face on a layup attempt (it wasn’t called as a foul), was slow to get up, got to the other end late, but still went down and played D.

3:09 (3) – After Brent Barry makes a 3 to cut the Suns’ lead to 22, the Suns call timeout. My wife starts saying in an annoyed fashion, “Come on, guys! Don’t let them get back in it!” I love my wife. I didn’t have to yell at the TV for once! She said exactly what I was thinking!

1:32 (3) – What hustle! Giricek dove for a loose ball and tied up Udoka, and then won the jump ball!

1:14 (3) – And then Diaw went to the other end and made another layup. What a GAME he’s having! 87-63 Suns, and Diaw has 20 points.

0:35.1 (3) – Speaking of great games, Bell hits another 3. 90-63 Suns, and Bell has 24 points!

0:01 (3) – After Damon Stoudamire (one of my former U of A boys) hits a two-point jumper, Barbosa hits a 3. 93-65 Suns.

Wow. This is a whoopin of Biblical proportions. I hope it keeps up and then carries into San Antonio on Tuesday.

During Quarter Break – A great Nike commercial just aired, with several athletes and coaches talking trash. One of them was my favorite player, Steve Nash. (Come on, I own both his pro AND college jerseys. Of course he's my favorite player.) One of the things he said was, “My agility is the C.E.O. of the Global Agility Corporation.” Classic. I’m gonna have to use that sometime. . .

11:38 (4) – Giricek doesn’t let up, as he starts the fourth quarter with a 3, to put the Suns up 31. This is insane.

10:34 (4) – Nash and Shaq both aren’t playing. When was the last time they were in the game?

10:23 (4) – Would somebody please explain this to me? Diaw gets fouled. After the whistle, he goes to shoot, but Kurt Thomas bear-hugs him to keep him from shooting. Amare goes over to tell Thomas that he didn’t appreciate it. Amare gets a technical foul. WHAT?!??? Shouldn’t that have been a technical on Kurt Thomas before Amare even went over there? Oh well. Suns are still up 31. But that was still stupid.

10:22 (4) – Brian Skinner is now in the game for Amare. I think Amare’s done for the day.

9:29 (4) – Barbosa nails a 3-pointer to put the Suns up 32. Looks like they’re taking out a lot of frustration on the Spurs.

8:41 (4) – Raja is now done for the day. D.J. Strawberry makes an appearance!

7:20 (4) – The announcers are blasting D’Antoni for Diaw still being in the game. Um, HE’S TWO ASSISTS SHORT OF A TRIPLE-DOUBLE! OF COURSE YOU LEAVE HIM IN! How many chances will Boris have to get a triple-double in the playoffs?

6:18 (4) – Uh oh. The Suns’ lead is down to only 25. We know that no lead is safe against the Spurs in the play. . . Ha ha. Who am I kidding? This one’s in the bag.

5:39 (4) – A shot by Oberto cuts the Suns’ lead to 21. Don’t give the Spurs ANY momentum! None!

4:30 (4) – Just found out that Boris Diaw runs a summer basketball camp in France, and two kids get a grand prize of coming out to the U.S. during the NBA regular season – with Diaw’s mom chaperoning – and they get to stay at Diaw’s house for two weeks and attend every Suns game during that time span. To quote Kevin from The Office, “AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!”

3:38 (4) – And what the heck just happened? D’Antoni got ejected?!?? What in the world? Because the ABC announcers are rambling about everything except the game, I don’t really know what happened. Maybe the postgame will tell us. . .

1:14 (4) – I’ve been so distracted while looking for info as to why D’Antoni got ejected, that I didn’t even realize that the Suns’ lead got slashed to 18. Oh well. It’s garbage minutes now and this thing is in the bag. I still don’t want to give the Spurs anything to feel good about though.

Final Horn – Suns win! Suns win! 105-86! I still want to know what D’Antoni did to get tossed. Keep it up Tuesday, Suns!

Yikes. . .

Sorry I've been behind on my posts. What a horrid week as a Suns fan.

Game 1, yes, was a classic. One of the all-time playoff greats. But I am sick and tired of hearing all these reporters talk about the game, because the wrong team won. And it happened mainly because the Suns blew the game. Consider:

• On the possession before Finley's game-tying three-pointer, the shot clock expired on the Suns. The league's best offense of the regular season failed to even put up a shot.
• Then Finley was WIIIIIIIIIIIIDE OPEN on his tying 3-pointer due to a failed defensive rotation.
• Then Barbosa threw up a wild, off-balance attempt to try and win the game.

With three minutes left in the overtime, and the Suns up four, my TiVo recording of the game quit, so I had to call my brother and ask what happened. At that point I found out about Duncan's game-tying three at the end of the first OT, Nash's clutch tying three near the end of the second OT, and then Ginobili (who looks a lot like Balki Bartokomous (played by Bronson Pinchot) from Perfect Strangers, so I will call him Balki from this post onward) made his left-handed LAYUP to win it. A layup. Man I hate the NBA's version of Balki. (Side Note: Apparently I'm not the first to notice this. It appears about halfway down this page. Moving on.)

According to The Great Bill Simmons' Levels of Losing, there are sixteen varying levels of losing. Game One fit the following categories:

• The Achillies' Heel (Level XV): The lousy free throw shooting of the Suns' big men, as well as the lack of depth in the big man department, severely hurt the Suns here, especially when Shaq, Amare, AND Boris all were in foul trouble.
• The Rabbit's Foot (Level XIV): From the fourth quarter onward, EVERY BREAK went against the Suns. My feeling went from, "Whoa, we might win this one comfortably," to "HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!???" to "Man, the Suns can't do ANYTHING right at this point," to, "Please. . . No . . . Not to THEM . . ."
• The Monkey Wrench (Level X): Why didn't the Suns foul Ginobili at the tail end of the first OT, when the Spurs had to make a three-pointer just to TIE? Duncan traveled before making his huge 3-pointer. And then, of course, there was the difficult-to-explain constant foul trouble of the Suns' big men . . . By the way, Bennett Salvatore was one of the officials on this game. Worth noting.
• The Broken Axle (Level VI): This was textbook Broken Axle, since the Suns blew a 16-point lead.
• The Stomach Punch (Level III): Tim Duncan (?!?) making a game-tying three-pointer? Are you kidding me?

Game Two was another Broken Axle game. (See the Suns' DREADFUL third quarter.)

Game Three was a strong case for a Dead Man Walking Game (Level XI). It also was a Full-Fledged Butt Kicking (Level IX). Seriously, Tony Parker probably would have made a backward half-court shot with one hand, the way he was shooting in the first quarter.

Now, can the Suns still win this series? Yes. There is actually an eerie similarity between the first three games of this series and the first three games of the Yankees-Red Sox series in 2004, especially in the Game Three blowout. Will the Suns win this series? Well. . . let's just hope they win today for now.