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Short-handed Suns stuff the Kings in overtime
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Stoudmire blocks Sacramento's Brad Miller under the basket
during the Suns' 97-95 win Friday night. (AP Photo: Rich
Pedroncelli)
It was sloppy at times, and it was ugly, but the Phoenix Suns were able to do just enough to beat the Sacramento Kings in overtime Friday night, 97-95.
Playing with only nine guys available due to the suspensions of Steve Nash and Matt Barnes, and the absence of Leandro Barbosa, rookie point guard Goran Dragic made his first start, and Grant Hill started in place of Barnes.
Shaquille O’Neal led the way for Phoenix with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists, while Grant Hill contributed 22 points and nine rebounds.
Amare Stoudemire picked up two early fouls and was mostly ineffective for the majority of regulation. He made only 4 of 11 from the field and 4 of 8 from the free throw line, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds.
Stoudemire though, turned it up a notch down the stretch, and was the hero in overtime for the Suns. With the game tied 95-95, Stoudemire made a jumper over Kings’ center Spencer Hawes with 4.5 seconds left to give the Suns the lead.
After a Kings timeout, John Salmons received the inbounds pass and drove to the hoop where Stoudemire blocked his shot. Hawes got the loose ball and shot it again, only to have Stoudemire block his shot as well as time expired.
The Suns led by as much as 13 points early in the third quarter, but the Kings made a late push, and outscored Phoenix 25-16 in the fourth. In fact, Phoenix led 53-42 at halftime, and only scored 33 points in the second half (17 in the third).
Again marred by turnovers, the Suns gave the ball away 22 times, including seven turnovers by Grant Hill. Bad passes plagued Phoenix, who seemed to throw it away every other possession in the second half.
“We had too many turnovers and were messing around and almost gave the game away. We need to take care of the ball,” said O’Neal after the game.
The Kings were led in scoring by John Salmons who played just under 51 minutes in the game, and scored 21 points. Brad Miller had the most complete game of the night though, finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.
Despite the sloppy play, a win is a win and gives Phoenix their seventh early on in the season. Head Coach Terry Porter recognizes that, and was pleased to get the victory under the circumstances.
“We did not execute down the stretch. Guys missed some shots and turned the ball over. I give our guys credit to come in here and get a win short-handed. They grinded it out and did what they had to do,” said Porter.
Nash returns from his one-game suspension on Sunday when the Suns (7-3) take on the Detroit Pistons (7-2) at the US Airways Center in Phoenix. Detroit is coming off a big win after handing the Los Angeles Lakers their first loss of the year, 106-95 in L.A. on Friday.
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