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QUARTER-BY-QUARTER ANALYSIS
First quarter: The Suns wasted no time showing the Bobcats and the Coliseum crowd just why they came in with the NBA’s best record overall (50-16) and on the road (27-7, with an eight-game away winning streak). Running at every opportunity, they sprinted to a 9-2 start with three different players getting in on the scoring. The Bobcats came back from a 1-of-6 shooting start, got back-to-back baskets from Emeka Okafor and began competing on more equal terms. Unfortunately for Charlotte the turnaround didn’t last – the Bobcats’ shooting dipped and the Suns kept building the lead, reaching a quarter high of 15 (29-14) at the end of the period. Phoenix shot 50 percent (12-of-24), Charlotte 28.6 percent (6-of-21). Joe Johnson topped the Suns with 12 points. Okafor scored eight and was the only Bobcat with more than one basket. Gerald Wallace came off the injured list (with bruised ribs) and got right back into the flow with six minutes in the quarter, though he was not yet back in the starting lineup. Second quarter: The Suns continued their domination, opening the second with a 7-0 spurt to extend their lead to 22 (36-14) with 10:17 remaining. The Bobcats would never recover in what proved to be a quarter to forget. Their shooting improved modestly to an overall 37.0 percent but not nearly enough – the Suns’ accuracy got better as well, to an overall 53.1 percent. The percentages were reflected in the score. The Suns’ lead reached 25 before the mid-point of the period and eventually climbed to 29. The halftime count was 70-47, and the Suns’ total represented a season high for a Charlotte opponent. Brevin Knight scored 10 to lead the Bobcats, and Johnson topped the Phoenix scoring with 18. Third quarter: The Bobcats came out with increased intensity and began chipping away at the deficit, in large measure because of defense as the Suns’ shooting through the mid-point of the quarter dropped to 3-of-12. But Charlotte couldn’t sustain anything offensively and wasn’t much better (5-of-14) on its end of the floor. The Bobcats cut it to 15 (77-62) with 6:21 to play. But the Suns just had too many weapons. They got their game back into high gear, ran the margin back to 20 and, by late in the quarter, had three players with 20 points apiece (Johnson, Amare Stoudamire and Shawn Marion). The Bobcats got the Phoenix lead down to 13 at one stage and trailed by 15 (91-76) at the end of the quarter but still had a long way to go. Fourth quarter: As they’ve done almost all season the Bobcats refused to give up the idea of a comeback. Jason Hart scored two early baskets, one of them a three-pointer, and Charlotte closed to within 10, 91-81, with 10:37 to play. The Suns quickly pushed it back to 15 on a Jim Jackson three-pointer moments later but the game turned into a shootout at that stage – the teams combined to score on 10 of the next 11 possessions, with five of the baskets coming from beyond the arc. Hart led the surge for Charlotte, scoring 11 in the quarter and 21 overall. But the earlier deficit had been too large – the Suns too strong – for the Bobcats to come all the way back. Johnson added a couple of three-pointers in the closing minutes and the margin mushroomed again to 18 and that resolved any remaining doubt about the outcome. Marion and Johnson finished with 26 apiece to lead Phoenix. Hart’s career-high 21 led six double-figure scorers for the Bobcats. The final: Phoenix 120, Charlotte 105.
GM & HEAD COACH BERNIE BICKERSTAFF SAYS... (on how to defend the Suns) The only way that you can be effective against this basketball team, and we talked about it, is your one and your five really have to do a lot of work. And the other guys really have to have that self-discipline to stay within the three-point area. What happened in the first half, we were out in the three-point area but we were just there. We didn’t defend the shot. They had 18 points from (beyond) the three-point line. The intention was to make them put the ball on the floor, because they can shoot the basketball. Even when we made that run we had the ball…we cut it to 10 points with the ball. And we had a couple of shots blocked down on the other end. Then they started to shoot the ball. Our defense picked up (but) they made shots. They are the real deal as a basketball team with the little guy (Steve Nash) distributing the ball, they make shots and their quickness. If you can get away in this league with (Shawn) Marion and (Amare) Stoudamire as your four and your five, that’s pretty good. (on making second-half progress by keeping Nash on one side of the floor) That was the intent and that’s how we kind of got back in the game. But we also paid attention to the three-point shooting. There’s no way you’re going to come (all the way) back against a team of that caliber – somebody’s going to make a play. Some of the shots they made down toward the end were terrific shots. There was nothing wrong with the defense. That’s what NBA players do. And early in the game we missed point-blank shots. You can say what you want to say but offense drives defense. If you’re making shots then your energy level is pretty good. And we had point-blank shots that would have helped and we didn’t make them. (on the intangibles that make the Suns so good) That basketball team, their chemistry is really, really good in terms of being able to play with each other and what they do for each other as a team. But the little guy (Nash) has to stay healthy. (on the return from injury of Gerald Wallace and his play) That was very good. We didn’t start him and we really didn’t have any energy early in that game, either. Usually whether it’s Emeka (Okafor) or Gerald, one of them kind of compensates for the other in terms of energy. But we didn’t have it. And we missed shots. He will start, that’s his job. (The trainers) wanted us to go five-minute slots with him and we kept asking him (if he needed to come out). (on the injuries) But we’re satisfied that we got somebody back. We’ll take what we can get. But it does create opportunities for (Jason) Kapono and Matt Carroll to play in those situations and I think they’re doing OK for themselves. And what I did like about Kapono was he missed shots in the first half but he came back out in the second half and took shots and he made them.
INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM
JASON HART (on the Bobcats effort in a second-half rally) We just showed our pride, character and heart. We just kept fighting. When you’re down all you can do is keep fighting and try to make a game out of it.
GERALD WALLACE (on playing Phoenix) It’s kind of hard because they have great athletes in their big guys. That’s what makes it really difficult because they run the floor like they’re guards. Once they get out on the floor and get running it’s hard to get back in transition.
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