Game Six Running Diary

After the gut-punch Suns fans received, Nash said that the Lakers held home court, and that "we'll do the same" in Game Six. This means another running diary from me, the Arizona Sports Fanatic.

Pregame – The seats in U.S. Airways Center look like a giant orange blanket. Planet Orange is rockin', and it is LOUD.

Pregame, Note Two – I do not recognize the names of any of the officials in tonight's crew. I don't know if that is a good sign or bad sign.

10:50 (1) – Marv Albert tells us that the Suns have won 20 out of their last 23 home games, including playoff games.

10:03 (1) – After a lazy Robin Lopez pass leads to a Ron Artest steal/dunk, Artest is so busy arguing the non-call that the Suns quickly fire down to a wide-open Grant Hill. Hill nails the open three and gets fouled by Andrew Bynum; Hill finishes the four-point play.

9:32 (1) – Channing Frye checks into the game and immediately drains a wide-open three to give the Suns a 10-9 lead.

9:20 (1) – Artest responds with one of his own to give L.A. a 12-10 lead.

8:30 (1) – Artest is off to a very good start. Calling John Green. You and your Diet Coke are needed. . .

8:15 (1) – Kobe Bryant, whose finger is bleeding, makes a shot and is fouled by Grant Hill. Bryant completes the three-point play to put the Lakers up 17-14 and then goes to the bench to stop the bleeding on his finger.

8:03 (1) – Richardson immediately ties the game on the other end with another trifecta.

6:45 (1) – After a head-scratching no-call, each team makes a basket and Jackson calls the game's first timeout. 19-19 tie.

6:02 (1) – Bryant makes a three, then Richardson misses one. However, Hill grabs the rebound and kicks out to Nash, who fakes a three then steps to the left and drains one. Bryant then misses one HORRIBLY.

5:33 (1) – Richardson bricks his first free throw and then makes the second. The Suns are not shooting free throws particularly well this series. I thought they got RID of Shaq. . .

3:54 (1) – After Artest makes a fallaway, Frye makes a nice pump fake and then moves to his left to drain a 20-footer. Jackson doesn't like that, either, and calls his second timeout.

3:44 (1) – Amar'e rejects a Bryant jumper, and then forces a traveling call. Bryant, of course, argues vehemently, but to no avail.

3:22 (1) – With the shot clock close to the end, the Suns get LUCKY that Jordan Farmar (who needs to learn how to spell "Farmer") fouls Amar'e in the backcourt. His two free throws give the Suns a 29-27 lead. . .

3:06 (1) – AND THEN HE SWATS A LAMAR ODOM JUMPER!!! Fast break the other way turns into a blown Dudley layup. Then Artest makes a three on the other end to give the Lakers a 30-29 lead. Dangit. You just can't blow layups in an elimination game.

After the timeout Craig Sager explains Andrew Bynum's injury and the knee brace controversy. Bynum is being stupid.

1:00 (1) – The Suns blow another great defensive play by Amar'e with a shot-clock violation, then Farmar buries a three. That's six points given up to the Lakers now after blown opportunities. Amar'e then makes a short banker and is fouled by Gasol (two on him now, as well as two on Fisher). After missing the first opportunity for a three-point play, it turns out that Bynum jumped into the lane early, so Stat gets a mulligan. He makes this to cut the Laker lead to one, 35-34.

End of quarter – After Bryant makes a jumper, the Suns blow a last-shot opportunity. Thankfully, Bryant misses the final shot, and the quarter ends with the Lakers ahead 37-34.

12:00 (2) – The Suns' second unit is on the floor. I'm quite excited. That also might have something to do with the fact that I am scarfing down some delicious wings from Native New Yorker. Their Oriental Garlic wings are to die for!

10:21 (2) – Sasha Vujacic – whom I despise – and Jared Dudley trade three-pointers. Then the Suns make a nice defensive stand on the other end, which culminates in a Lamar Odom foul. Then LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU Amundson banks home a 15-foot jumper to make the score 40-39.

8:46 (2) – After Dragič makes a tough driving layup over Artest, the Suns make two nice defensive stands. 42-41 Lakers as Jackson calls another timeout. Do they grow on trees?

6:17 (2) – After another basket from Dragič gives the Suns a 43-42 lead, the Suns go COLD and give up nine unanswered points. Coach Gentry calls timeout with the Suns down 51-43.

5:36 (2) – Stat finally stops the bleeding with a jumper. 51-45.

5:08 (2) – Curse you, Ron Artest! (Another three pointer puts the Lakers up, 54-45.) John Green. Seriously. We need you.

2:16 (2) – The Suns are not playing very well defensively OR offensively right now. After getting down 11, Frye mercifully makes a three to cut the deficit to 58-50. Timeout by Jackson.

Halftime – Wow. What a horrendous way to close out the second quarter. Since their 43-42 lead, the Suns got outscored 23-10 to trail 63-52 at halftime. The Suns simply must play better defense and take smarter shots in the second half, or I'm going to be wondering yet again when I will ever see a Suns championship.

11:45 (3) – Stoudemire's first shot of the second half is badly short. After a Laker miss, Richardson misses a three. Right now the Suns have only made three of their last thirteen shots.

10:45 (3) – Three of fourteen now. . .

9:52 (3) – After a Fisher three, the Suns miss yet another. Three of fifteen now. Then Lopez gets the offensive rebound, is fouled, and the Suns miss another.

9:17 (3) – Nash thankfully breaks the drought with a long rainbow of a two-pointer.

8:38 (3) – Nash makes his second straight shot. 69-57 Lakers.

8:14 (3) – Bryant makes a three with the shot clock running down. Frye answers with a 20-footer. 72-59 Lakers.

7:31 (3) – Nash makes his third in a row to cut the deficit to 11.

6:29 (3) – Bryant hits two free throws, then after a missed shot on either end, Nash finds Stat for a dunk. 74-63 Lakers, who call another timeout.

5:38 (3) – Bynum commits his fourth foul to put Amar'e on the line. Even though Marv Albert attempted the announcer hex, Stat hits both free throws anyway to cut the deficit to nine.

4:57 (3) – My wife: "I won't watch the Finals if the Lakers make it." Neither will I, babe.

4:34 (3) – And just like that the deficit is 13. Then Stoudemire travels and has a shot cancelled out because of it. I am starting to get that sick yet empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

4:02 (3) – It's a bad sign when Nash is rebounding better than Stoudemire. Meanwhile, Fisher picks up his fourth foul as well.

3:19 (3) – Artest is on fire, and the Suns are not. Lakers lead by 14. Meanwhile, Stoudemire misses two free throws.

3:04 (3) – I have absolutely no wind in my sails at this point, and neither does the U.S. Airways Center crowd. Gasol just made two free throws to extend the Laker lead to 16.

2:19 (3) – Artest is ridiculous now. 18 point Laker lead. The Suns cannot seem to do anything right at this point. And may I take this opportunity to say how much of a travesty it is that Gasol is even on the Lakers' roster. That trade with Memphis was as one-sided as a North Korean election. The Lakers gave up their three worst players for one of the three best centers in the league. When Gregg Popovich says that the NBA should have vetoed the trade, you know it's bad.

By the way, Alvin Gentry has got to be the most positive coach I have ever heard. I love this guy. He was still saying, "There's a lot of time left. We'll be alright." He's one of the best coaches in the NBA.

2:10 (3) – Dragič and Barbosa just checked in. Coming out of a timeout, Stoudemire thunders home a quick dunk. Then Bryant drains a jumper on the other end, but Barbosa answers with a three to make it 87-72.

End of quarter – Now Kobe Bryant is playing out of his mind. He made three straight TOUGH shots. When the quarter ends, it's 91-74 Lakers. I hate them so much. Not even Boston fans can hate the Lakers as much as I do.

11:20 (4) – Dragič drains a jumper for the first points of the quarter, making it 91-76. Immediately, The Villain (Sasha Vujacic) elbows him under the chin. Dragič writhes in pain. WHY WAS HE NOT EJECTED?!??? He is such a thug. Wow. And now the fans are thirsty for blood.

Meanwhile, the officials are reviewing the play. They have now made it a Flagrant Foul 1. Dragič gets to shoot two and then the Suns will get the ball back. He makes them both.

11:11 (4) – Dragič takes the inbound, drives the lane, and makes the layup! 91-80 Lakers, and the crowd is right back in it.

10:26 (4) – Dragič makes another layup to cut the lead to nine!

9:42 (4) – Further proof that photographers are too close as Dudley falls on a cameraman and injures him. It looks like he sat on the back of the guy's neck. Right before that, Farmar had made a jumper to put the Lakers up by 11 again.

9:08 (4) – Frye makes a turnaround jumper to cut the lead to nine again.

8:26 (4) – Turns out that the photographer was a veteran Sports Illustrated photographer. I hope he's okay.

7:54 (4) – STOUDEMIRE DUNKS ON GASOL AND CUTS THE DEFICIT TO SEVEN!!!!!!!

6:37 (4) – After a Fisher jumper, an offensive foul on Stat, and a missed Gasol hook, Odom fouls Stoudemire and sends him to the line for two, which he makes. 95-88 Lakers.

6:19 (4) – Bryant and the rest of the Lakers have gone COLD. After a miss by the Black Mamba, Dragič makes a gorgeous feed to Stoudemire, who makes a finger roll! 95-90! Dragič is playing unbelievable ball right now!

5:50 (4) – FRYE WITH A REJECTION!!!

5:09 (4) – Barbosa takes an ugly three and misses, but Gasol blows it on the other end.

4:22 (4) – Bryant hits a jumper with no time left on the shot clock, but Barbosa makes a layup on the other end to make it 97-92.

3:26 (4) – I am thoroughly sick of Derek Fisher.

3:12 (4) – Amar'e gets Gasol to commit his fourth foul and goes to the line. He hits both to make it 99-94.

2:43 (4) – What a foolish play by Amar'e as he pushes Gasol to the floor and gets called for an offensive foul. The Suns had the chance to cut the deficit to three on that possession.

2:41 (4) – I have a sick feeling in my stomach again, like the Suns are about to tease me into hope only to punch me in the face once more.

2:26 (4) – Great defensive stand by the Suns leads to a big defensive rebound by Frye, which leads to a Nash layup that cuts it to 99-96.

1:43 (4) – I am also sick of Kobe Bryant and have been for years. The Rapist just made a next-to-impossible jumper to make it 101-96, and then comes up with a steal and gets fouled to go to the free throw line. Of course, he makes both to put L.A. back up by seven.

1:30 (4) – Stoudemire just barely misses a short jumper, but is fouled (Gasol's fifth foul). Man, we needed that one to fall. Amar'e still makes them both. 103-98.

0:34.2 (4) – I HATE KOBE BRYANT SO MUCH. And he should been t-d up for taunting.

0:23.2 (4) – And Stoudemire misses. That's probably it. Another year without a title. Why does God hate my team?

0:13.2 (4) – After Artest made one of two free throws, Nash popped a three to cut it to 108-103. Hill fouls Bryant and puts him on the line for two free throws. He makes one. 109-103.

Subsequent inbound – Nash was being held, but this is the playoffs. Stoudemire takes the inbound and gives it back to Nash, who airballs a three with Gasol's hand in his face. Bryant gets the rebound and gets fouled.

0:08.2 (4) – Bryant goes to the line again and makes both. Darn it all.

End of game – Go Celtics.

Why? Why why why why why why why why WHY?!??? Does God hate my team?