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Suns win big over Pistons, Shaq ejected
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After being ejected in the second quarter by referee Ken Mauer (front),
Shaquille O'Neal gives Mauer his opinion on the matter. (AP Photo:
Ross D. Franklin)
Shaquille O’Neal was ejected in the second quarter of Sunday night’s game, leaving the Phoenix Suns without three key players for the second straight contest.
Despite losing their starting center, the Suns shot 56.9 percent from the field, as well as 6 for 12 from behind the three-point line en route to a 104-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
O’Neal was given a flagrant two foul for a block attempt that sent Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey hard to the ground. A flagrant two is an automatic ejection, which O’Neal loudly protested before heading to the locker room.
After a lack-luster performance Friday in Sacramento, Amare Stoudemire came roaring back with a vengeance, leading the Suns with 29 points and 11 rebounds.
Steve Nash, returning from his one-game suspension, contributed 17 points and seven assists, while Grant Hill scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
Although O’Neal left the game with 5:19 left in the second quarter, he had already scored 12 points in 13 minutes on 6 for 12 shooting.
Head Coach Terry Porter, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Pistons, seemed to know exactly how he wanted to attack his former team. They spent the majority of the night defending Detroit with their zone defense, preventing one of the best penetrating point guards, Allen Iverson, from getting any points in the paint.
Iverson made only 4 of 17 from the field, finishing with just nine points, all of which were made from the perimeter. He did, however, dish out seven assists to his new teammates.
Detroit was led in scoring by Richard Hamilton who had 19 points, while Rasheed Wallace scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
The Pistons shot 39.8 percent from the field, and only 23 percent from the three-point line (3 for 13).
After an impressive hustle performance as the backup point guard Friday night against the Kings, rookie Sean Singletary again got meaningful minutes for the Suns on Sunday. Although his time was shortened, he split the backup point guard duties with fellow rookie Goran Dragic, contributing three points, an assist, and a rebound in seven minutes.
Phoenix was again without starting forward Matt Barnes, who was serving his second game of a two-game suspension. Leandro Barbosa missed his second game in a row as well, while he is in Brazil mourning the loss of his mother with his family.
The Suns (8-3) travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz (6-4) on Monday, who are 4-0 at home to start the season.
Happy Birthday STAT
Amare Stoudemire celebrated his 26th birthday Sunday night with the win over the Pistons. STAT entered the league in 2002, when he was just 19 years old.
For more info: Suns 104, Pistons 86
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