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Top 5 Phoenix Suns games of 2008 (part 1)
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Early in 2008, Stoudemire's teammates were praising his
play as MVP quality. Kobe Bryant (left) was eventually
named the league MVP however. (AP Photo: Mark J. Terrill)
The Phoenix Suns take on the San Antonio Spurs at home on Christmas Day this Thursday. Without having a crystal ball, you might not be far off if you think that game could end up making this list.
San Antonio finds themselves with their ‘Big Three’ completely healthy, unlike their first meeting on opening night when Manu Ginobili was still nursing his ankle injury. The Suns beat the Spurs in San Antonio 103-98, but unlike some of their previous meetings from this past year, that game didn’t make my best of 2008.
So here you go, in reverse order (and my sole opinion in which I consulted no one at all), the top five games involving the Phoenix Suns in the 2008 calendar year.
5. February 22, 2008: Phoenix Suns 85, Boston Celtics 77
A tough victory against the eventual league champions will make the list everyday of the week. This game marked the first win of the Shaquille O’Neal era in the desert, and had Suns fans in an uproar over their team’s facelift.
The Suns dominated the Celtics at home on the glass, out-rebounding Boston 50-32, and were led by O’Neal’s 14 rebounds, although he only scored four points. Amar’e Stoudemire scored a game-high 28, and Grant Hill had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
After the game, O’Neal and Hill praised Stoudemire’s abilities, and even had Hill whispering MVP.
“Amare has just been phenomenal at both ends,” said Hill. “Defensively, offensively he’s just bringing it. I hate to put it out there but he’s playing MVP caliber basketball.” (From Bob Baum’s AP article, read the game review here)
O'Neal climbed over the top of 'Mount Mutombo' as the
Suns won their year-best, seventh game in a row over
the Rockets in March 2008.
4. March 22, 2008: Phoenix Suns 122, Houston Rockets 113
This was their seventh win in a row, the longest winning streak the Suns put together in all of 2008. Stoudemire made 20 of 20 from the free throw line, and set a new franchise record for consecutive free throws made.
As a team, the Suns were an incredible 38 for 40 from the charity stripe, with O’Neal contributing the two misses, but still hitting 7 of 9.
STAT finished with 38 points and 13 rebounds, while O’Neal also had a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds, his highest scoring game to that point in Phoenix.
The Suns played just seven players in the game, a Mike D’Antoni trademark, and all but Hill scored in double figures. In his defense, despite scoring just two points, Hill did have a game-high 10 assists.
Tracy McGrady of the Rockets put on a show himself, keeping the game tight as he scored 30 points along with nine rebounds, eight assists, and four blocks, all team-highs on the night.
The Suns’ win streak was snapped two nights later in Detroit 110-105, and they were beat again two nights later as Boston got their revenge in a 117-97 blowout.
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Grant Hill's reverse layup with 2.7 seconds left capped a
thrilling 113-112 victory over the Magic just this month.
(AP Photo: Paul Connors)
3. December 12, 2008: Phoenix Suns 113, Orlando Magic 112
Easily the most exciting game of the current season so far. If the hype going into the game of newly acquired sharp-shooter Jason Richardson wasn’t enough, this one was a nail-biter until the final buzzer.
Hill made a reverse layup with 2.7 seconds left in the game, set up by one of the nicest inbounds plays I’ve seen in quite a while. Hill inbounded the ball to Stoudemire, then immediately cut along the baseline, freed up by a Steve Nash screen, and caught the return pass from Stoudemire underneath the basket where he finished the layup reversing under the hoop.
Orlando had a chance to win on the last position, but Rashard Lewis’ three-pointer missed right, and the Suns held on to win without the Big Diesel with the team.
In his Phoenix debut, Richardson scored 21 points on 50 percent shooting off the bench. Nash hit 4 of 5 from three-point land, and Stoudemire was the only player from both teams to reach double figures in rebounding with 14. Both Nash and Stoudemire scored 21 as well, all game-highs, making Suns fans hope that kind of point sharing would continue with O’Neal back in the lineup.
Come back on Tuesday, December 23rd, as I unveil the Suns’ top two games of 2008. One of them should come as no surprise, but you might not remember the other flashback I’ve got in store for you.
The top two games are now available, you can read them here: Top 5 Phoenix Suns games of 2008 (part 2)
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