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Nashless Suns get burned at home by Heat
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Shawn Marion (left) visited Shaquille O'Neal (right) and the Phoenix Suns for the first
time since last season's trade deadline deal that swapped the two. (AP Photo: Matt York)
I want whatever Dwayne Wade had for his Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. An unstoppable Wade lit up the Phoenix Suns friday night, scoring 43 points and dishing out six assists to lead the Miami Heat to a 107-92 victory. Phoenix had absolutely no answer for Wade who made 15 of 24 shooting and 11 for 12 from the free throw line.
It was Shawn Marion's first game against his former team, and the first time he's played at the US Airways Center since being traded for Shaquille O'Neal at last season's trade deadline. Marion had 10 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in nearly 37 minutes off play.
A sloppy and slow first quarter was the key difference in the game for Phoenix. The Heat led 32-19 after the opening period, and never really let the game get out of their grasp the rest of the night.
The Suns were without Steve Nash, who made a game-time decision to sit out due to a thigh bruise suffered on Wednesday night in the win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The bruise was suffered during a collision with Minnesota's Kevin Love who was setting a screen on Nash. He finished the game on Wednesday, but the contusion seemed to tighten up on Nash over the past two days.
Though the injury is not serious, no immediate thoughts have been given on Nash's availability for Sunday's game at home against the New Jersey Nets.
In his place, Sean Singletary was given the first start of his professional career, although he played just under 11 minutes the entire game despite making both of his shot attempts. He finished with six points, two assists, and two rebounds, but Leandro Barbosa ended up playing point guard the majority of the night.
Barbosa, who was celebrating his 26th birthday Friday evening, led the Suns with 20 points and five assists, playing 37 minutes off the bench. Raja Bell continued his hot hand behind the arc, hitting 4 of 8 from downtown and added 16 points.
Turnovers, the equivalent of the plague for the Suns, continued to bite them where it hurt. Phoenix gave the ball away 19 times, while the Heat coughed up the rock just eight the entire night.
Despite shooting 75 percent from the field, O'Neal (6 for 8) wasn't given many opportunities on offense in his 28 minutes of play. He finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Amar'e Stoudemire was also quite with just 10 shot attempts, adding 14 points.
The Suns (11-6) who had won their previous three games in a row, look to get back on the winning track when they complete their season series with the Nets (7-7) on Sunday. Phoenix beat New Jersey on the road 114-86 in their first meeting back on November 4th.
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