The Phoenix Suns made another great effort to get to the free throw line, resulting in a victory over the Washington Wizards 104-88. This was the second game in a row where the Suns got to the stripe much more frequently than their opponent, and both have resulted in wins. The Suns also played great defense in the third quarter, which ended up being the difference in the game. This was the first time all season that the Suns have won on consecutive nights.
Channing Frye began the game shooting, and making his first three-point attempt. This would turn out to be a good sign for him and the Suns, as he has struggled to find his shot all season. Frye sank another three with the score tied at 10, igniting a 9-0 Suns run. By the end of the first, Frye had 10 points and six rebounds, on his way to 19 points and 11 rebounds for the game. Frye helped the Suns to a 31-25 advantage after the first quarter.
The Wizards kept the game close as JaVale McGee scored six of the teams first eight points in the second quarter. Rashard Lewis sank a nine-foot jumper to tie the score at 36 midway through the quarter. The Suns never trailed in the first half, but could not pull ahead by more than seven. The Suns had a the lead 53-48 going into the break.
The third quarter started out great for the Wizards, as Trevor Booker scored five straight, giving his team their first lead of the game 55-54. It all went downhill for the Wizards from that point on, as the Suns played shut-down defense and only allowed the Wizards to score six points in the final eight minutes of the quarter. Trevor Booker scored eight of the Wizards 13 points in the quarter, on his way to scoring 16 for the game.
Meanwhile, the Suns reeled off 16 straight, capped off by a Steve Nash jumper. Nash said, "It was important to be strong and be tough mentally because we expended a lot of energy last night. We haven't had a couple of days off in it feels like forever." By the time Michael Redd canned his second three of the quarter, on his way to 14 in the game, the Suns had a 25 point lead. The Suns made 10 of their final 12 shots, and hit 9 of 10 free throws to pull ahead 85-61 heading into the final period.
Both teams pretty much sat their starters in the fourth quarter, as the outcome of the game had already been determined. Jordan Crawford had 20 points off the bench, but the Wizards never pulled closer than 16 in the last quarter.
Marcin Gortat scored 20 or more points in his third consecutive game for the first time in his career. He scored exactly 20, while Steve Nash handed out 11 assists. Nash has handed out double-digit assists in 10 straight games. Frye made 4 of 7 from three in the game, and said after the game, “We were moving, we were talking on 'D' and just playing good basketball."
This is the only meeting between the Suns and Wizards this season. The Suns are 2-0 so far in their six game home stand. They play the Golden State Warriors Wednesday, Feb. 22, and then are off until March 1 due to the All-Star break.
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