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Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns beat New York Knicks to…

ascerriff — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:48:17 +0000

Published: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 9:44 p.m. MST

By Brian Mahoney, Associated Press

NEW YORK — Steve Nash provided the beautiful point guard play that once made Mike D’Antoni’s offense hum and now is sorely lacking.

Then, Shannon Brown crushed the Knicks with a 3-pointer that nearly bounced over the basket before bouncing in, a shot as ugly as this game.

“Probably about par for the course,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said.

Nash had 26 points and 11 assists, and the Suns snapped a five-game losing streak with a 91-88 victory over the Knicks on Wednesday night.

Brown and Grant Hill each scored 14 points for the Suns, who bounced back from an embarrassing 118-97 loss to a Chicago team without Derrick Rose a night earlier.

They got help with a lucky bounce on Brown’s 3-pointer from the corner that bounced off the rim, then the top of the center of the basket before falling in to give them a five-point lead with 35 seconds left. Nash made it stand up with six free throws in the last 16 seconds.

Gentry said Nash, who shot 9 of 12, is playing as well as he did in his MVP seasons under D’Antoni. Nash said playing his former coach and teammate Amare Stoudemire, in the city where he lives in the summer, was “a homecoming in some ways” but denied any extra significance in beating them.

“Right now, we could have beat anybody and it’d be sweet,” Nash said. “It’s been a tough year, we’ve had a tough stretch, so for us, any win is a huge relief and hopefully will give us some confidence and maybe get us going a little bit.”

Stoudemire scored 23 points for the Knicks, who have lost four straight and can’t find answers for their offensive struggles.

“I know we’re 6-8, I know we’re in a little bit of a crisis here,” D’Antoni said. “But we’re playing hard, playing good defense. There’s some good things we’re doing. We’ve just got to figure out the one part and that’s the part that should be easiest. It’s become a problem, and if we solve it, we’ll be pretty good. We just have to do it sooner rather than later.”

Iman Shumpert added 20 points and Landry Fields had 17, but Carmelo Anthony, perhaps still bothered by a sore left wrist, shot just 5 of 22 while finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Anthony did not speak to the media. A Knicks spokesman said he left because of a family issue.

Hill hit jumpers for the Suns’ last three baskets of the third quarter, giving them a 64-61 edge. The Knicks then managed just two field goals in the first six minutes of the fourth, and Phoenix finally got some room when a 10-4 run, ending with consecutive baskets by Brown, made it 78-71.

Shumpert’s 3-pointer cut it to 82-80 before Brown answered with his 3 from the corner that had to be reviewed.

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Nash, Suns beat Knicks to end 5-game skid

canadianpharmorg — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:19:17 +0000

Steve Nash had 26 points and 11 assists, Shannon Brown hit a
crucial 3-pointer that was as ugly as this game, and the Phoenix
Suns snapped a five-game losing streak with a 91-88 victory over
the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.

Brown and Grant Hill each scored 14 points for the Suns, who
bounced back from an embarrassing 118-97 loss to a Chicago team
without Derrick Rose a night earlier.

They got help with a lucky bounce on Brown’s 3-pointer from the
corner that nearly hit the top of the backboard before falling in
that gave them a five-point lead with 35 seconds left, and Nash
closed it out with six free throws in the last 16 seconds.

Former Suns forward Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points for the
Knicks, who have lost four straight.

Iman Shumpert added 20 points and Landry Fields had 17, but
Carmelo Anthony shot just 5 of 22 while finishing with 12 points
and 11 rebounds. Neither team led by more than six in the first
three quarters. Hill hit jumpers for the Suns’ last three baskets
of the third quarter, giving them a 64-61 edge. Anthony was just 2
of 13 through three but New York stayed in it behind Fields, who
played aggressively and scored 10 in the period.

The Knicks then managed just two field goals in the first six
minutes of the fourth, and Phoenix finally got some room when a
10-4 run, ending with consecutive baskets by Brown, made it
78-71.

Shumpert’s 3-pointer cut it to 82-80 before Brown answered with
his 3 from the corner that had to be reviewed. Shumpert made
another 3, but Nash kept hitting from the line, and it ended when
Shumpert’s rushed 3 from near midcourt was nowhere near the
basket.

Tyson Chandler grabbed 17 rebounds for the Knicks on a night
there were plenty of missed shots as both teams showed why they
have been struggling so much early in the season.

The surprising culprits have been the team’s offenses, with both
struggling just to reach 90 points during their skids. That’s
particularly hard to imagine in Phoenix, where the Suns remained
potent long after Mike D’Antoni brought his high-powered system to
New York, and comes just a year after the teams combined for 250
points here in the Suns’ 129-121 victory.

“That’s pretty ironic you know, because obviously most of the
things we do is what Mike did when he was there,” Suns coach Alvin
Gentry said. “There’s a few things that we’ve changed, but it’s
kind of a mystery to me. I can’t put my finger on the fact that
we’re struggling to get to 100 every game. I thought that would be
one of the areas where we’d have the least worries and it’s become
just the opposite.”

Gentry shook up his rotation in an effort to balance things
after noticing the Suns were 27th in the NBA in second-quarter
scoring. Rookie Markieff Morris made his first start at forward and
Ronnie Price got the nod at shooting guard.

Turns out he didn’t the extra scoring, because the Knicks
remained in a seemingly season-long shooting slump.

It was the sixth straight game the Knicks failed to reach 100
points, their second-longest streak under D’Antoni, according to
STATS, LLC. They went seven games in a row early in the 2009-10
season, when they had little talent while clearing cap space for
free agency.

Now they have All-Star talent in Stoudemire and Anthony, but the
offense just isn’t running smoothly without a veteran point guard.
They are hoping that when Baron Davis finally is ready from a
herniated disc in his back sometime around the end of the month
that he can change that.

The Knicks wrap up their string of four homes in six nights with
a back-to-back against Milwaukee and Denver on Friday and
Saturday.

Notes: D’Antoni said C Jerome Jordan and G Jeremy Lin, assigned
Tuesday to Erie of the NBA Development League, would probably
return near the end of the month when Davis is back and the team
will want to play 5-on-5 in practice. … The Knicks played without
reserve guard Bill Walker, who has a sore right knee.

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Phoenix Suns at New York Knicks – game chat

guestearell — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:43:33 +0000

by Paul Coro – Jan. 18, 2012 04:26 PM
The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com

Suns (4-9) at Knicks (6-7)

C: Marcin Gortat … Tyson Chandler
PF: Channing Frye … Amar’e Stoudemire
SF: Grant Hill … Carmelo Anthony
SG: Jared Dudley … Landry Fields
PG: Steve Nash … Iman Shumpert

Key Knicks subs: Toney Douglas, Mike Bibby, Jared Jeffries, Bill Walker, Josh Harrellson.
Key Knicks injury: Baron Davis (herniated disk) is out.

Today’s Orange Slices, a little travel-tardy:

* Somebody is going to get their team right tonight. One team might even rediscover its offense too.

The parting of Mike D’Antoni and Amar’e Stoudemire from Phoenix to New York in recent years has proven good for nobody this season. The Knicks have lost three games in a row. D’Antoni is on the hot seat. Stoudemire is shooting 42 percent and the glory time of it being his team did not even last a season before Carmelo Anthony took over. The Suns are worse off than the Knicks, having lost five in a row and going into year two of having no player to get baskets or free throws when all else fails.

Both teams have lost their offensive swag, experiencing double-digit scoring drop-offs from last season.

“Back to the drawing board,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said after the Suns’ Tuesday loss at Chicago.

* Steve Nash continually points out the Suns lack of talent as a reminder that we all need to readjust our bar of expectations. The realists knew that a fringe playoff race would be a best-case scenario for this team, one that needed to have everything go right with healthy and performances to even get to that point. Health problems hit them early and several players have not shot well to squelch any early optimism.

The most dangerous problem now is they are reverting to their porous defensive ways. Sometimes, they have just been bit by their own game plan. You want Kyrie Irving to shoot jumpers because he gets to the rim so well. But the Cavaliers’ key second-quarter run in that game was full of Irving jumpers. Deron Williams was a 35 percent shooter who torched Phoenix and then went 3 for 15 the next night. The Suns wanted Carlos Boozer to take outside shots and he got hot.

“You can blame the defense but there were some stretches where everything was going in,” Nash said of the Chicago loss. “That put them in a position to have a lot of confidence to make plays the rest of the game. They made a lot of shots in the first quarter outside 15 feet that were abnormal.”

But at some point, the Suns should want to shed their soft label in those moments. Boozer made 11 shots in the first half Tuesday night. How many would it take before a defender knocked a screener to the ground, put a hand in Boozer’s face, fingers in his eyes, a body to his chest?

“We’ve got to be more physical,” Gentry said. “That’s slipped a bit. Our rotations have slipped. We haven’t done a good job of communicating. We’re dying for practice time and we don’t have any time until we get to Dallas.”

But as Gentry acknowledged, the lack of practice time is every team’s problem is this compressed schedule. Part of the Suns’ defensive problem recently is they adhere to a plan but do not adjusted individually during the game.

“Ultimately, defense is pride,” Grant Hill said. “I’m going to do all I can to prevent my man from scoring. There is a team concept. Elston (Turner) is doing a good job of trying to teach it. You have to take pride in doing the assignment the right way. We’ve shown when we do it, we can be pretty good. When we don’t, we can be pretty bad.”

How about Shannon Brown? He goes from the Lakers to this.

“We’ve got to trust each other out there,” Brown said. “We’ve got to know our defensive assignments and go out there and do it. We’ve got to see each other and be on a string. It has to be a constant rotation of us playing together.

“We’ve got to stick together and have confidence. The only we’re going to come out of this slump is if we stick together rand stay positive with each other.”

* With no top-50 scorers for a second consecutive season, Nash could win the assist title again (he is tied at 10.0 with Rajon Rondo). That has New York salivating at the thought of the city’s offseason resident joining them in free agency next summer. The New York Post headline today read, “Hello Sunshine … Knicks taking close look at Nash.” The New York Times’ headline read, “The Power of a Single Player … Knicks lack point guard to elevate their offense.”

As much as Phoenix is struggling offensively, New York might even be worse off. The Knicks sorely need a playmaking point guard to execute D’Antoni’s offense but instead rank in the NBA’s bottom five for field goal shooting and assists. Stoudemire, who had back issues, is shooting a career-low 42 percent and seeing Tyson Chandler get the pick-and-roll calls and the Olympic finalist nod. Carmelo Anthony is not shooting or feeling much better with a 42.7 percent clip and a sore left wrist and right ankle.

The Knicks are waiting on Baron Davis, 32, to get well from a herniated disk but he is still weeks away from playing.

* Nash lost more ground on the career free throw percentage record he has held a few times before relinquishing it. Nash missed another free throw Wednesday, making it so that he needs a streak of 12 made free throws to retake the league record from Mark Price. Nash is at 90.35 percent and Price’s record is 90.39.

Post your comments on the game below:

Photos from the game

That’s all for today.

Phoenix Suns waive PG Dowdell, sign Price and add…

laraartstyle — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:42:11 +0000

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have waived backup point guard Zabian Dowdell, signed guard Ronnie Price and added forward Marcus Landry to the roster.

Dowdell gave the Suns quality minutes as Steve Nash’s backup last season, but he has been bothered by a sore right knee in training camp. Phoenix also signed point guard Sebastian Telfair just before the start of camp, helping lead to Dowdell’s release on Tuesday.

Price has averaged 3.6 points over six NBA seasons with Sacramento and Utah.

Landry has spent most of his professional career in the NBADL since leaving Wisconsin in 2009, his lone NBA experience a 17-game stretch with the Knicks in 2009-10 before being traded to Boston.

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Report: Free agent forward Hill eyeing New York

edrxbuy.org — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:28:22 +0000

As NBA training camp is growing closer, NBA veteran Grant Hill may be learning toward joining the New York Knicks rather than returning to the Phoenix Suns, according to the New York Post.

The Knicks previously attempted to woo Hill away from the desert with a contract offer in 2009, however the former All-Star chose to stay with the Phoenix Suns at the time. However, this time the Knicks appear to be primed for a major playoff run after acquiring All-Stars Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony last season. While the club failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs last year, it is believed with their stars fully healthy, and a full season to come together, they could content for an Eastern Conference title.

The Phoenix Suns remain in the picture for Hill as do the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Hill, 39, averaged 13.2 points in just 30.1 minutes per game last season in a limited role with the Suns. Once considered one of the best players in the game, injuries drastically derailed his career after he signed a multi-million dollar free-agent deal with the Orlando Magic in 2000. In six years in Orlando, Hill played in just 200 out of 492 possible games. Since 2007, however, the former Rookie of the Year has found a career resurgence as one of the better role players in the league.

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Phoenix Suns eye Denver Nuggets among teams to chase

SafSteetleMog — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:01:19 +0000

by Bob Young – Feb. 22, 2011 08:37 PM
The Arizona Republic

At this point, the Suns don’t care if Carmelo Anthony fits in with Amar’e Stoudemire and makes New York an instant contender in the Eastern Conference.

But the blockbuster trade that sent the All-Star from the Denver Nuggets to the Knicks could help the Suns in the tightly bunched Western Conference race.

The Suns, 10th entering Tuesday’s games, have 28 remaining – beginning Wednesday night with the Atlanta Hawks at US Airways Center.

One of those games is against the seventh-place Nuggets.

“You don’t wish ill will on anyone,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “But I’d like to see them lose as many games as they could.”

Actually, that is ill will.

“I said it nicely,” Gentry said.

Who can blame the Suns for hoping somebody struggles after handing an All-Star to the Knicks?

The Suns have gone through two extreme makeovers since last summer when they didn’t keep Stoudemire.

“I guess it’s not the worst thing that could happen to us,” Suns playmaker Steve Nash said of the trade. “(Denver) got a lot of really good players and good pieces, but it usually takes a team some time. We’ll see, but I don’t think we need to worry about anybody else. We need to worry about ourselves and try to find a way to win a bunch of these 28 games.”

Though Gentry would love to get some help from the Nuggets, he knows there are others in the race. Ultimately the Suns have to move past two to reach the playoffs. Gentry isn’t counting out Denver.

“(Denver forward) J.R. Smith is such a wild-card guy; he could take over that position and average the same amount of points,” Gentry said.

Suns reserve Hakim Warrick has extra reason to be happy – he was Anthony’s teammate on Syracuse’s national-championship team and remains close to him.

“For him to have a chance to go play for a team with all its history and being an East Coast guy born in New York, that’s really exciting,” he said.

“Losing Carmelo and Chauncey (Billups) is a really big hit for Denver, but those guys they got back are some good players. Hopefully it takes them a little bit more time to jell. But they’ve still got the talent to make the playoffs.”

For Jared Dudley, it doesn’t matter if Denver is the team that the Suns jump.

“There’s always one team in a playoff spot that tanks at the end,” he said. “It happens every year. Somebody struggles. It could be them. It could be Utah or New Orleans. It could be us. That’s why pressure gets to teams.”

After Wednesday night’s game, the club embarks on a six-game trip. And a five-game trip awaits in April. In all, the Suns play 16 of their final 28 on the road and 15 against winning teams.

Here’s how it looked entering Tuesday night:

-Â New Orleans was in sixth place but had lost eight of its past 10, including three in a row entering the All-Star break. The Suns have three games remaining against the Hornets and already have one victory against them.

-Â The Nuggets had lost six of their past 10 before the trade. Denver has a 2-1 edge in the season series with the Suns with one game to play.

-Â Utah has been in a free-fall since Jerry Sloan stepped down as coach, and they were slipping before that. The Jazz had lost their past four entering the break – two to the Suns, who hold the tiebreaker if a playoff spot or seeding comes to that.

-Â Memphis will be without Rudy Gay for at least a month because of a dislocated shoulder but had won eight of its past 10 going into All-Star weekend. Memphis has the tiebreaker against the Suns.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Phoenix Suns glow in close, but controversial win, over New Orleans Hornets; links

OvesseNeith — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:22:01 +0000

Published: Monday, January 31, 2011, 8:00 AM Â Â Â Updated: Monday, January 31, 2011, 8:09 AM

No goal-tend call makes it legal, says Grant Hill. (Paul Coro, Arizona Republic).

Wizards Josh Howard still concerned with knee. (Michael Lee, Washington Post).

Golden State Warriors eye Andre Iguodala. (Marcus Thompson II, San Jose Mercury News).

Could Warkentien’s presence help Knicks land Melo? (Ken Berger, CBSSports.com).

That’s all for today.

Vince, Suns torch Knicks

hitpield — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:03:10 +0000

Amare’s 41 not enough to end skid

Shawne Williams, top, blocks a shot by Suns’ Channing Frye in the first quarter on Monday.AP

By The Associated Press

Published: 2:00 AM – 01/18/11

NEW YORK â€” Vince Carter scored 29 points, including the 20,000th of his career, and the Phoenix Suns ran past the Knicks 129-121 on Monday to match a season high with their third straight victory.

Grant Hill added 25 points for Phoenix, which overcame a season-high 41 points from former Suns All-Star Amare Stoudemire and handed the Knicks their third loss in a row. Steve Nash finished with 15 points and 11 assists in a good start to a five-game Eastern trip for the Suns.

The Suns also held Stoudemire scoreless for the first eight minutes of the final period after he had 33 points through three, giving them just enough defense in a matchup that not surprisingly was otherwise all about offense.

Wilson Chandler scored 23 points for the Knicks. Raymond Felton had 13 assists but another poor shooting night, going 3-for-13 for seven points.

Former Knicks forward Channing Frye scored 18 points. It was the Suns’ third consecutive high-scoring performance after a four-game stretch in which they were held below 100, the first time that had happened since December 2005.

One of those came 10 days ago during a 121-96 loss in Stoudemire’s return to Phoenix. But the Suns got revenge against him and former coach Mike D’Antoni and have scored at least 115 points in every game during their winning streak.

Danilo Gallinari scored 17 points in his return to the lineup after missing six games with a sprained left knee, but the Knicks were without big man Ronny Turiaf because of a bruised right hip.

Stoudemire left Phoenix for New York in the summer when the Suns wouldn’t fully guarantee him a maximum contract. He scored at least 20 points for the 25th consecutive game and moved ahead of Bernard King for the third-longest streak in franchise history, four shy of Richie Guerin’s record set in 1962.

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Phoenix Suns Overcome New York Knicks Despite Amareâ€™s 41 Points

SugihMiriam — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:56:57 +0000

The Phoenix Suns are back to their high octane offense, at least in their 129-121 victory over former star Amare Stoudemire and the New York Knicks on Monday. Led by aging warriors Vince Carter and Grant Hill, Phoenix overcame Stoudemireâ€™s 41 points to stretch its winning streak to three games.

Vince Carter reached a career milestone by scoring his 20,000th point in the game.

Carter led all scorers with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Resurgent Grant Hill added 25 points while the rest of the starting lineup scored in double digits. Steve Nash had 15 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds. Channing Frye had 18 while Robin Lopez chipped in 12.

While the Suns offense waxed hot, they also did a good defensive job on Stoudemire in the fourth quarter as the former Sun was scoreless in the first eight minutes.

Wilson Chandler contributed 23 points for the Knicks, Danilo Gallinari had 17 and Landry Fields added 11 but Raymond Felton went just 3 for 13 from the field for 7 points.

After knotting the score on Gallinariâ€™s triple at 106-all with 5:29 left in the game, the Suns went on a 13-4 run and never looked back.

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There is the quick update of the day.

Suns Defeat Knicks 129-121 at Garden as New York Loses Third Straight Game

willslimg — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:03:57 +0000

Vince Carter got his 20,000th career point as the Phoenix Suns logged their third straight win in beating the New York Knicks 129-121.

Amarâ€™e Stoudemireâ€™s team-leading 41 points at Madison Square Garden in New York couldnâ€™t prevent the Knicks from losing their third straight National Basketball Association game. The win gave the Suns revenge for a 25-point Jan. 7 loss to the Knicks in Phoenix.

Carterâ€™s 29 points took him to 20,020 over 884 NBA games, making him the eighth active player to pass the 20,000-point threshold.

Grant Hill added 25 points and Channing Frye had 18 for the Suns, while Wilson Chandler added 23 points for the Knicks. Danilo Gallinari, who missed New Yorkâ€™s past six games with a sprained left knee, returned to the lineup and collected 17 points.

The game was the first of five on the road for the Suns (18-21). The Knicks (22-18) begin a three-game road trip on Jan. 19 in Houston, followed by stops in San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

The Suns led by seven points at halftime and 97-91 after three quarters. The Knicks pulled within two points at 98-96 with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before Raymond Felton hit a three-pointer to give the home team a 101-100 lead with 8:35 remaining. Phoenix pulled away down the stretch, outscoring the Knicks 29-20.

In Memphis, Luol Deng had 28 points to the lead the Chicago Bulls over the Grizzlies 96-84. The Bulls played without Carlos Boozer, who has a sprained ankle.

In Washington, Nick Young had 25 points to give the Wizards a 108-101 win over the Utah Jazz, while the Philadelphia 76ers won 96-92 at the Charlotte Bobcats.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Buteau in Atlanta at mbuteau@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net

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Suns overcome Amare Stoudemire’s 41, beat Knicks 129-121

Hyclort — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:05:46 +0000

NEW YORK â€” Vince Carter scored 29 points, including the 20,000th of his career, and the Phoenix Suns ran past the New York Knicks 129-121 on Monday to match a season high with their third straight victory.

Wilson Chandler scored 23 points for the Knicks. Raymond Felton had 13 assists but another poor shooting night, going 3 for 13 for seven points.

Former Knicks forward Channing Frye scored 18 points. It was the Sunsâ€™ third consecutive high-scoring performance after a four-game stretch in which they were held below 100, the first time that had happened since December 2005.

One of those came 10 days ago during a 121-96 loss in Stoudemireâ€™s return to Phoenix. But the Suns got revenge against him and former coach Mike Dâ€™Antoni and have scored at least 115 points in every game during their winning streak.

Danilo Gallinari scored 17 points in his return to the lineup after missing six games with a sprained left knee, but the Knicks were without big man Ronny Turiaf because of a bruised right hip.

Stoudemire left Phoenix for New York in the summer when the Suns wouldnâ€™t fully guarantee him a maximum contract over concerns about the long-term condition of his knees. He scored at least 20 points for the 25th consecutive game and moved ahead of Bernard King for the third-longest streak in franchise history, four shy of Richie Guerinâ€™s record set in 1962.

He also picked up his 12th technical after he bumped Frye in the first half and is now four away from an automatic one-game suspension.

The game was close throughout the second half. Hakim Warrick, essentially Stoudemireâ€™s replacement, scored six straight for Phoenix before Gallinariâ€™s 3-pointer tied it at 106 with 5:29 left.

Nash answered with a 3, Carter scored five straight for Phoenix, and Frye capped a 13-4 surge with another 3-pointer that gave the Suns a 119-110 lead with 2:39 remaining. The Suns stayed ahead with their excellent foul shooting, finishing 28 of 31.

Carter became the eighth active player to reach 20,000 and has been in double figures in all 10 games since he was acquired from Orlando. He also added 12 rebounds.

Notes: Knicks president Donnie Walsh believes he could acquire at least one first-round pick if needed. The Knicks have long been considered to be running behind the Nets in the Carmelo Anthony chase, in part because they have no pick to include in a trade with Denver. “I could probably get more than one, but Iâ€™m not going to say how many,” Walsh said before the game. “But Iâ€™m confident I can get a first-round pick.” … Suns coach Alvin Gentry was impressed with New York Jets [team stats] coach Rex Ryan last week and imitated Ryanâ€™s news conference in which he said the matchup with the Patriots [team stats] came down to himself against New England coach Bill Belichick. “Itâ€™s personal, itâ€™s me and Mike, OK,” Gentry joked of the matchup with Mike Dâ€™Antoni, his former boss. “It just comes down to me and Mike, thatâ€™s it. It doesnâ€™t have anything to do with the players, anything. Itâ€™s me and Mike. Iâ€™ve got to be a better coach than Mike today, OK?” … Speaking of football, wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Owens were sitting in the same row across from the Phoenix bench.

What do you guys think about this.

Carter goes over 20K; Suns dispatch Knicks, Amar’e

losangelesloan — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:53:29 +0000

CBSSports.com wire reports
Jan. 17, 2011

NEW YORK — The Suns sure look different from the team that went down without a fight in Amar’e Stoudemire’s return to Phoenix.

They’re scoring again like the old Suns teams did — and that’s what it took to win in Stoudemire’s highest-scoring game since departing the desert.

Vince Carter scored 29 points, including the 20,000th of his career, and Phoenix ran past the New York Knicks 129-121 on Monday to match a season high with its third straight victory.

“I know that thing about defense wins championships, but I still haven’t seen a team yet win a game 0-0,” coach Alvin Gentry said. “You’ve got to be able to make shots and put it in the basket. That’s the only way you’re going to beat a team that’s geared up to score.”

Grant Hill added 25 points for Phoenix, which overcame a season-high 41 points from Stoudemire and handed the Knicks their third loss in a row. Steve Nash finished with 15 points and 11 assists in a good start to a five-game Eastern trip for the Suns.

“I don’t like to think of things in terms of retribution and payback, but it didn’t feel good to get smashed at home, so it was a rewarding win today,” Nash said.

Carter, who became the eighth active player to reach 20,000 points, also added 12 rebounds. That Jan. 7 blowout loss was only his fifth game with the Suns after his acquisition from Orlando.

“They beat us pretty good last time and it was still my first couple of games there, so I just felt like I could have given this team more,” Carter said. “Now that I feel more comfortable, I see where I can get my shots or just make plays for the team.”

Wilson Chandler scored 23 points for the Knicks, and Raymond Felton had 13 assists but another poor shooting night, going 3 for 13 for seven points. The Knicks fell to 22-18 after a game that D’Antoni said “definitely should be a wake-up call.”

“We know that four games over .500 is unacceptable,” Stoudemire said. “We had a chance to really take advantage of our situation and we didn’t. So now we have to fight to get back to where we rightfully belong.”

Danilo Gallinari scored 17 points in his return to the lineup after missing six games with a sprained left knee, but the Knicks were without big man Ronny Turiaf because of a bruised right hip.

Stoudemire left Phoenix for New York in the summer when the Suns wouldn’t fully guarantee him a maximum contract over concerns about the long-term condition of his knees. He scored at least 20 points for the 25th consecutive game and moved ahead of Bernard King for the third-longest streak in franchise history, four shy of Richie Guerin’s record set in 1962.

He also picked up his 12th technical after he bumped Frye in the first half and is now four away from an automatic one-game suspension.

“I think he’s fine. I’ve been around Amare a long time. He can control it and hopefully he will,” D’Antoni said. “I think we’ll attack some problems before we attack that. We’ve got some problems.”

Hakim Warrick, essentially Stoudemire’s replacement, scored six straight for Phoenix before Gallinari’s 3-pointer tied it at 106 with 5:29 left.

Notes

Knicks president Donnie Walsh believes he could acquire at least one first-round pick if needed. The Knicks have long been considered to be running behind the Nets in the Carmelo Anthony chase, in part because they have no pick to include in a trade with Denver. “I could probably get more than one, but I’m not going to say how many,” Walsh said before the game. “But I’m confident I can get a first-round pick.”
Suns coach Alvin Gentry was impressed with New York Jets coach Rex Ryan last week and imitated Ryan’s news conference in which he said the matchup with the Patriots came down to himself against New England coach Bill Belichick. “It’s personal, it’s me and Mike, OK,” Gentry joked of the matchup with Mike D’Antoni, his former boss. “It just comes down to me and Mike, that’s it. It doesn’t have anything to do with the players, anything. It’s me and Mike. I’ve got to be a better coach than Mike today, OK?”
Speaking of football, wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Owens were sitting in the same row across from the Phoenix bench.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

Suns overcome Stoudemire’s 41, beat Knicks 129-121

bingoJeafttode — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:53:49 +0000

NEW YORK â€“ Vince Carter scored 29 points, including the 20,000th of his career, and the Phoenix Suns ran past the New York Knicks 129-121 on Monday to match a season high with their third straight victory.

Wilson Chandler scored 23 points for the Knicks. Raymond Felton had 13 assists but another poor shooting night, going 3 for 13 for seven points.

Danilo Gallinari scored 17 points in his return to the lineup after missing six games with a sprained left knee, but the Knicks were without big man Ronny Turiaf because of a bruised right hip.

He also picked up his 12th technical after he bumped Frye in the first half and is now four away from an automatic one-game suspension.

The game was close throughout the second half. Hakim Warrick, essentially Stoudemire’s replacement, scored six straight for Phoenix before Gallinari’s 3-pointer tied it at 106 with 5:29 left.

Carter became the eighth active player to reach 20,000 and has been in double figures in all 10 games since he was acquired from Orlando. He also added 12 rebounds.

Notes: Knicks president Donnie Walsh believes he could acquire at least one first-round pick if needed. The Knicks have long been considered to be running behind the Nets in the Carmelo Anthony chase, in part because they have no pick to include in a trade with Denver. “I could probably get more than one, but I’m not going to say how many,” Walsh said before the game. “But I’m confident I can get a first-round pick.” … Suns coach Alvin Gentry was impressed with New York Jets coach Rex Ryan last week and imitated Ryan’s news conference in which he said the matchup with the Patriots came down to himself against New England coach Bill Belichick. “It’s personal, it’s me and Mike, OK,” Gentry joked of the matchup with Mike D’Antoni, his former boss. “It just comes down to me and Mike, that’s it. It doesn’t have anything to do with the players, anything. It’s me and Mike. I’ve got to be a better coach than Mike today, OK?” … Speaking of football, wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Owens were sitting in the same row across from the Phoenix bench.

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Suns overcome Stoudemire, Knicks 129-121

Poitte — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:45:42 +0000

NEW YORK – Vince Carter scored 29 points, including the 20,000th of his career, and the Phoenix Suns ran past the New York Knicks 129-121 on Monday to match a season high with their third straight victory.

Wilson Chandler scored 23 points for the Knicks. Raymond Felton had 13 assists but another poor shooting night, going 3 for 13 for seven points.

Danilo Gallinari scored 17 points in his return to the lineup after missing six games with a sprained left knee, but the Knicks were without big man Ronny Turiaf because of a bruised right hip.

He also picked up his 12th technical after he bumped Frye in the first half and is now four away from an automatic one-game suspension.

The game was close throughout the second half. Hakim Warrick, essentially Stoudemire’s replacement, scored six straight for Phoenix before Gallinari’s 3-pointer tied it at 106 with 5:29 left.

Carter became the eighth active player to reach 20,000 and has been in double figures in all 10 games since he was acquired from Orlando. He also added 12 rebounds.

Notes: Knicks president Donnie Walsh believes he could acquire at least one first-round pick if needed. The Knicks have long been considered to be running behind the Nets in the Carmelo Anthony chase, in part because they have no pick to include in a trade with Denver. “I could probably get more than one, but I’m not going to say how many,” Walsh said before the game. “But I’m confident I can get a first-round pick.” … Suns coach Alvin Gentry was impressed with New York Jets coach Rex Ryan last week and imitated Ryan’s news conference in which he said the matchup with the Patriots came down to himself against New England coach Bill Belichick. “It’s personal, it’s me and Mike, OK,” Gentry joked of the matchup with Mike D’Antoni, his former boss. “It just comes down to me and Mike, that’s it. It doesn’t have anything to do with the players, anything. It’s me and Mike. I’ve got to be a better coach than Mike today, OK?” … Speaking of football, wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Owens were sitting in the same row across from the Phoenix bench.

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Turnaround time in NY?

duidefenses — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 12:20:03 +0000

Phoenix Suns update:

Suns (17-21) at Knickerbockers (22-17) … 11 a.m. Phoenix tip time

C: Robin Lopez … Ronny Turiaf

PF: Channing Frye … Amar’e Stoudemire

SF: Grant Hill … Wilson Chandler

SG: Vince Carter … Landry Fields

PG: Steve Nash … Raymond Felton

Key Knicks subs: Shawne Williams, Bill Walker, Toney Douglas.

Key Knicks injuries: Danilo Gallinari (knee sprain)Â and Kelenna Azubuike (kneee surgery) are out.

Ten days ago, the Suns were a mess incapable of even threatening to win at home against the Knicks. They trailed all game, gave up 19 first-half points to Amar’e Stoudemire, saw New York make 17 3-pointers and allowed Raymond Felton’s first career triple-double. The result was a 121-96 loss, an embarrassing blowout defeat that led to another one at Denver.

But since that game, the Suns have gone 3-1 and the Knicks have gone 1-3. And don’t expect Alvin Gentry to play lineup chess again with Mike D’Antoni. He said he will stick with the above starting lineup,Â which is 3-1,Â that he has committed to for the long-term whether D’Antoni goes small with Toney Douglas again or not. Gentry said he regretted that night’s last-minute lineup change to start Josh Childress at center and Grant Hill at power forward.

“We weren’t playing good basketball,” Hill said. “To come across a team like New York and the situation with Amar’e and Coach D’Antoni and them playing extremely well having just beaten San Antonio at home, they were playing with a lot of confidence and we weren’t. We’re playing with more confidence. We have more spirit now. Hopefully, we have a little bit more fight in us.”

HillÂ could draw some Stoudemire defensive duty again, either at the start or later in the game, as a change of pace. His knee was sore on Saturday after returning to play Friday night but improved enough to play in some of Saturday’s scrimmaging at a practice in Manhattan.

“I’m like the fire extinguisher,” Hill said of covering Stoudemire. “I’m there. Break, if necessary.

“I’m a third-down back.”

As for the 17 3s the Knicks made, they went cold two nights later at Los Angeles when the longer Lakers were running at those shots. Gentry said the Suns challenged 13 of the 17 3-pointers that New YorkÂ made in Phoenix. And of the three wide-open ones the Knicks took, they missed two.

“They did break us down on dribble penetration,” Gentry said. “Our defensive scheme was to make them make jump shots by being attached to Amar’e and they did that so we’ll have to revisit that.”

More than anything, Gentry wants his team to play offensively like its identity again. He has seen Steve Nash turn more aggressive offensively in the past two games and welcomes it. Nash has been taking one less shot per game than this season over last season with Stoudemire around.

“I’m happy about that,” Gentry said. “I would hope he would get up five, six extra shots a game. We need that. One thing about him, I think he’s got a pretty good feel for when we really need him to score. We have to be a little more simplistic offensively to make things easier for ourselves. When we swing the ball and there’s a shot available, we need to eliminate the pump fake and shoot the ball. We’ve never been a team that passes up shots. That, in itself, creates a good flow for us.”

The Suns have been in New York since Saturday, arriving a day early because of today’s 1 p.m. New York tip so they could get adjusted, practice here Sunday and get the Big Apple revelry out of the way two nights before the game. Much of the team went out to dinner together Saturday night, Gentry said.

“I was very much worried about the New York factor, which is why we’re here now,” Gentry said after Sunday’s practice. “Hopefully, the New York factor happened (Saturday) night.”

With a win today, the Suns would match their season-best winning streak and have only losing teams remaining on the rest of this five-game trip.

Tweetin’ at www.twitter.com/paulcoro

Monday, January 17, 2011 at 05:18 AM
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