Stoudemire Dominates In Phoenix Win

The Phoenix Suns have looked ragged and vulnerable since trading for Shaquille O’Neal, but they looked like their old, confident selves Thursday night as they defeated the Golden State Warriors 123-115 in Phoenix. Amare Stoudemire scored five consecutive points to begin a 13-2 Phoenix run late in the third quarter that gave blew the game open and gave the Suns (43-22) their third win in a row. Stoudemire scored 36 points and nabbed 11 rebounds as he dominated Golden State (40-24) down low. Stoudemire scored ten points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth, including a running dunk with 14 seconds left that sealed the game for Phoenix.

Phoenix displayed a better level of intensity throughout the game, although it looked as if they were letting the referees’ questionable calls affect their game in the first half. Every team in the wild, wild West needs to find some characteristic that separates them from the rest of the pack. In Phoenix, their veteran experience could be the difference-maker. Grant Hill and O’Neal are new additions this year and they, coupled with Nash, provide a new level of wisdom to a team that has perhaps lacked that characteristic the past few years. The two biggest worries for Phoenix, though, will be, 1) containing opposing point guards from dictating their offenses and 2) getting consistent productivity from O’Neal.The irony is that both problems tie in together. Having O’Neal defend the basket gives the team its best shot-block presence and restricts the freedom of opposing point guards who break the first level of defense. By trading Shawn Marion, the Suns are left without a dominate defense perimeter player and are even more susceptible to the dribble penetration of their opponents. On Thursday night, though, it didn’t matter as Stoudemire keyed the Phoenix win.

Like nearly every other Western Conference matchup in the last couple of weeks, the game had playoff-level intensity, as the Suns drew three technical fouls in the first half. O’Neal had trouble staying on the floor, drawing three fouls in the first half and a fourth just 2:35 into the third quarter. O’Neal scored just nine points and grabbed four rebounds in only 14 minutes of action.Steve Nash added 21 points and 13 assists for Phoenix. Boris Diaw posted a great stat line of 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Leandro Barbosa notched 14 points off the bench.Although Phoenix turned the ball over 16 times, to Golden State ’s seven turnovers, they shot 54.9 percent from the field.

Golden State made only 41 percent of their shots in the game.Baron Davis was the latest in a string of point guards who have had great games against the Suns. Davis scored 38 points, grabbed nine boards and distributed eight assists as he penetrated the paint effortlessly. Golden State ’s Monta Ellis dropped in 23 points while getting eight rebounds and Mickael Pietrus scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the loss.