Previous week’s games
4/29/10 SUNS 99, Blazers 90
5/03/10 SUNS 111, Spurs 102
5/05/10 SUNS 110, Spurs 102
This week’s games
05/07/10 Suns @ Spurs, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
05/09/10 Suns @ Spurs, 5 p.m., TNT
05/11/10 Suns vs. Spurs, 7:30 p.m., TNT (if necessary)
Jared Dudley was the sparkplug the Suns needed in game two. AP photo.
It has been 17 years since the Suns have been in the position they are in right now. The year was 1993. Charles Barkley was the new kid on the block that just moved into a brand new house, then known as America West Arena. The Suns were up 2-0 on the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Fast-forward to 2010, and the Suns are finally back in that position. After an impressive 110-102 win Wednesday night, the Suns have a commanding two-game lead over the heavily hated Spurs in their second-round playoff match-up.
The Suns were able to jump out to the 2-0 series lead with one of the most impressive wins I’ve ever seen from the team. With most of the focus coming into Wednesday on the Suns’ decision to wear their “Los Suns” jersey partly in an effort to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and partly to protest Arizona’s new immigration law, Phoenix was able to overcome an off-shooting night and come away with the huge victory.
Despite playing the game at a pace that favored the Spurs and shooting a lowly 42% from the field (including a measly 34% in the first half), the Suns still managed to put up 110 points, the fifth time in five games against San Antonio that Phoenix has scored at least 110, and basically beat the Spurs at their game.
A lot of talk coming into this series was about how the Suns are too soft, not good enough defensively and too weak on the boards to seriously compete with the Spurs. Wednesday evening, the Suns made some doubters eat crow. The Suns came out and punched the Spurs in the mouth, absolutely dominating the glass. The final scoreboard shows Phoenix won the rebound battle 49-37, but honestly, it didn’t even feel that close. To offset their poor shooting night, the Suns out-hustled the Spurs to come away with 18 offensive rebounds. The Spurs had seven.
Jared Dudley has to receive credit for sparking the Suns in this one. His energy early in the second quarter really turned things around and got the Suns going. On one possession he actually picked up two and-ones, and they were both a result of pure energy. After the game, Spurs coach Greg Popovich snapped at a reporter when asked if he felt the Suns had more energy. Pop claimed both teams came out with equal energy, but that clearly was not the case. The Suns’ energy was a huge factor in this win. The Suns played like a desperate team down a game.
On Friday, the series shifts to the Alamo City, with the Suns and Spurs both in unfamiliar territory. However unfamiliar, though, I think I could get used to this.
On Twitter? Use the #ScorchTheSpurs hashtag when talking anything Suns!
