If Mickael Pietrus’ comments in a French newspaper mean that he would like to leave the Suns, they probably would be happy to say au revoir to him and his $5.3 million salary.

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Profile: Mickael Pietrus

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According to a hoopshype.com translation of an interview Pietrus did with L’Equipe, Pietrus said, “A lot of teams are interested in me, like the Lakers or the Celtics. This came from the best player in the world: Kobe Bryant. He told me two months ago that he would like to see me with the Lakers.”

Two months ago, Pietrus was supposedly undecided on whether he would exercise the $5.3 player option in his contract for 2011-12 or become a free agent. It was a no-brainer choice but he did not commit to it until June 13.

Pietrus also told L’Equipe, “Phoenix didn’t use me but that’s their problem. I’m going to continue working. The only thing I care about is winning a title.”

That is up for interpretation. After the December trade, the Suns used Pietrus extensively in the beginning before sending him in and out of the rotation in January. Then he played in 26 consecutive games, although his role and time sharply decreased in the games before he suffered his quadriceps-tendon strain when landing on a blocked shot attempt.

Pietrus was not expected to be out long but wound up not returning for the remainder of the season. The Suns left him in Phoenix to rehabilitate during a five-game trip in April. When they returned, Pietrus said he could barely walk and did not return to play.

Last month, his agent said he would not be surprised if the Suns made a trade because of the overload of wing players but was optimistic how a training camp would help Pietrus. It is true that Pietrus could be a different player with a full season. He had never been traded in the middle of a season previously and can bring a defensive intensity that is not always seen in the rest of the roster. He can find ways to score and hit the 3-pointer but he also can follow any make with a couple of horrendous shots.

The Suns are faced with the same dilemma on the wings if Grant Hill re-sings to join Pietrus, Jared Dudley and Josh Childress, especially with Alvin Gentry and Lon Babby saying the Suns need to add a go-to wing scorer. If there are indeed “a lot of teams” interested in Pietrus at $5.3 million, the Suns would be willing listeners to trade offers.

Pietrus will be joining France’s national team training camp this month in preparation for the European Championship, which starts at the end of August in Lithuania. Suns center Marcin Gortat is also expected to play there for Poland.

If Mickael Pietrus’ comments in a French newspaper mean that he would like to leave the Suns, they probably would be happy to say au revoir to him and his $5.3 million salary.

---

Profile: Mickael Pietrus

---

According to a hoopshype.com translation of an interview Pietrus did with L’Equipe, Pietrus said, “A lot of teams are interested in me, like the Lakers or the Celtics. This came from the best player in the world: Kobe Bryant. He told me two months ago that he would like to see me with the Lakers.”

Two months ago, Pietrus was supposedly undecided on whether he would exercise the $5.3 player option in his contract for 2011-12 or become a free agent. It was a no-brainer choice but he did not commit to it until June 13.

Pietrus also told L’Equipe, “Phoenix didn’t use me but that’s their problem. I’m going to continue working. The only thing I care about is winning a title.”

That is up for interpretation. After the December trade, the Suns used Pietrus extensively in the beginning before sending him in and out of the rotation in January. Then he played in 26 consecutive games, although his role and time sharply decreased in the games before he suffered his quadriceps-tendon strain when landing on a blocked shot attempt.

Pietrus was not expected to be out long but wound up not returning for the remainder of the season. The Suns left him in Phoenix to rehabilitate during a five-game trip in April. When they returned, Pietrus said he could barely walk and did not return to play.

Last month, his agent said he would not be surprised if the Suns made a trade because of the overload of wing players but was optimistic how a training camp would help Pietrus. It is true that Pietrus could be a different player with a full season. He had never been traded in the middle of a season previously and can bring a defensive intensity that is not always seen in the rest of the roster. He can find ways to score and hit the 3-pointer but he also can follow any make with a couple of horrendous shots.

The Suns are faced with the same dilemma on the wings if Grant Hill re-sings to join Pietrus, Jared Dudley and Josh Childress, especially with Alvin Gentry and Lon Babby saying the Suns need to add a go-to wing scorer. If there are indeed “a lot of teams” interested in Pietrus at $5.3 million, the Suns would be willing listeners to trade offers.

Pietrus will be joining France’s national team training camp this month in preparation for the European Championship, which starts at the end of August in Lithuania. Suns center Marcin Gortat is also expected to play there for Poland.

Phoenix Suns update:

If Mickael Pietrus’ comments in a French newspaper mean that he would like to leave the Suns, they probably would be happy to say au revoir to him and his $5.3 million salary.

According to a hoopshype.com translation of an interview Pietrus did with L’Equipe, Pietrus said, “A lot of teams are interested in me, like the Lakers or the Celtics. This came from the best player in the world: Kobe Bryant. He told me two months ago that he would like to see me with the Lakers.”

Two months ago, Pietrus was supposedly undecided on whether he would exercise the $5.3 player option in his contract for 2011-12 or become a free agent. It was a no-brainer choice but he did not commit to it until June 13.

Pietrus also told L’Equipe, “Phoenix didn’t use me but that’s their problem. I’m going to continue working. The only thing I care about is winning a title.”

That is up for interpretation. After the December trade, the Suns used Pietrus extensively in the beginning before sending him in and out of the rotation in January. Then he played in 26 consecutive games, although his role and time sharply decreased in the games before he suffered his quadriceps-tendon strain when landing on a blocked shot attempt.

Pietrus was not expected to be out long but wound up not returning for the remainder of the season. The Suns left him in Phoenix to rehabilitate during a five-game trip in April. When they returned, Pietrus said he could barely walk and did not return to play.

Last month, his agent said he would not be surprised if the Suns made a trade because of the overload of wing players but was optimistic how a training camp would help Pietrus. It is true that Pietrus could be a different player with a full season. He had never been traded in the middle of a season previously and can bring a defensive intensity that is not always seen in the rest of the roster. He can find ways to score and hit the 3-pointer but he also can follow any make with a couple of horrendous shots.

The Suns are faced with the same dilemma on the wings if Grant Hill re-sings to join Pietrus, Jared Dudley and Josh Childress, especially with Alvin Gentry and Lon Babby saying the Suns need to add a go-to wing scorer. If there are indeed “a lot of teams” interested in Pietrus at $5.3 million, the Suns would be willing listeners to trade offers.

Pietrus will be joining France’s national team training camp this month in preparation for the European Championship, which starts at the end of August in Lithuania. Suns center Marcin Gortat is also expected to play there for Poland.

 Tweetin’ at www.twitter.com/paulcoro

Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 12:43 PM

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Updated Apr 14, 2011 3:02 AM ET

PHOENIX (AP)

The San Antonio Spurs lost a shot at home-court advantage throughout the playoffs and saw a grimacing Manu Ginobili leave the court in pain early in the game.

Not exactly a beautiful ending to a powerful regular season.

”Now,” coach Gregg Popovich said, ”the fun starts.”

Despite the 106-103 loss to Phoenix on Wednesday night, the Spurs are the No. 1 seed in the West and early indications were that Ginobili’s hyperextended elbow wasn’t serious.

Popovich sat Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in a loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, but all three were in the starting lineup Wednesday.

”You can’t predict anything and there’s no reason to second guess and I don’t think any one of us are going to do that,” Duncan said. ”Luckily, it’s not serious and hopefully he can be ready to go once the playoff starts. You cross your fingers, you hope for that, and you move on.”

The Spurs move on to a first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that seemed to want to face San Antonio.

”They sat their guys for the last three or four games,” Duncan said. ”They’re trying to stay where they’re at. Obviously, they’ve chosen their matchup and want to stick with it.”

Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 13 rebounds to help the Suns avoid being swept in the four-game regular season series.

The Spurs, at 61-21, finished a game behind Chicago for the best record in the NBA.

Had San Antonio and the Bulls finished tied and faced each other in the NBA finals, home-court advantage would have been determined by a random drawing because all other tiebreakers were equal.

Ginobili went down with 9:46 left in the first quarter. The star guard slid to the floor near the San Antonio free throw line, then the Suns’ Grant Hill fell on top of him.

X-rays for a more serious injury were negative. An MRI was planned Thursday.

Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker sat out the Spurs’ 102-93 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday but all three were in the starting lineup against Phoenix. Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes. Parker scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting in 25 minutes. Neither were on the court when the game ended.

”Tony’s been under the weather. He got 25 minutes so I thought that was about enough for him,” coach Gregg Popovich said. ”We got Timmy about 30 so that was good. They needed to get a good run and they did so they could keep a rhythm. And then you like to win, but we didn’t and that’s the way it goes.”

Channing Frye and Jared Dudley scored 17 apiece for the Suns.

”We’ve kind of had our fans on the emotional roller coaster this year,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said, ”where we played well and then we struggled then we played well.”

Phoenix failed to make the playoffs for the second time in three years after a surprise run to the Western Conference finals a year ago, which included a second-round sweep of San Antonio.

”It’s been a long year so to finish it off with a couple of victories was good,” the Suns’ Steve Nash said. ”I think it was important for us too for our psyche. It’s a good feeling amidst a lot of disappointment.”

Nash, with one year left on his contract with Phoenix, said he has no desire to play elsewhere.

”This is my team,” he said.

The Suns shot out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter Wednesday night and the Spurs never could catch them.

After shooting 65 percent in the first 12 minutes (17 of 26), the Suns made 20 percent (5 of 25) in the second to lead 61-53 at the break.

San Antonio cut it to 66-63 on Parker’s short jumper three minutes into the second half, but an 11-1 Phoenix run made it 77-64 when Dudley made a pair of free throws with 5:01 to play in the period.

Down 85-74 after three, the Spurs came back to make it a free throw shootout down the stretch. Aaron Brooks sank two from the line to put Phoenix ahead 106-103 with 3.9 seconds to go. Gary Neal threw up an airball from the corner for San Antonio just before the buzzer.

Notes: Hill became the seventh player in NBA history to average at least 13 points at age 38 or older. … Ginobili missed two games this season, only one because of injury: March 28 against Portland because of a bruised left quad. … Nash led the NBA in assists for the fifth time, joining John Stockton and Jason Kidd as the only players to do so. … San Antonio had the best record in the West for the sixth time in franchise history – five of them with Duncan. … The Suns won 40 games for the seventh straight season.

Phoenix Suns update:

Suns (38-41) at Mavericks (45-30)

 

C: Marcin Gortat … Tyson Chandler

PF: Channing Frye … Dirk Nowitzki

SF: Grant Hill … Shawn Marion

SG: Jared Dudley … Rodrigue Beaubois

PG: Steve Nash … Jason Kidd

 

Key Mavs subs: Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, Brendan Haywood, JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Corey Brewer.

 

Today’s Orange Slices . . .

 

* Tip-off is 4:30 p.m. Phoenix time.

 

* Steve Nash will be back in the lineup today after resting a right hamstring strain in Friday’s loss at New Orleans. Nash has sat out three of the past five games but plans to play the final three games over four days.

 

This starting lineup has only played five games together, winning just once. This season’s most successful lineup was the previous one to this. The Nash-Carter-Hill-Frye-Lopez lineup was also easily the Suns’ most common starting lineup, going 19-11. No other lineup was used in 10 games.

 

Nash’s league assist lead is looking safe so far today with Boston’s Rajon Rondo off to a slow assist start today against Miami. Nash entered the day at 11.4 assists per game with Rondo at 11.3

 

* The Suns and Mavericks split the first 16 regular-season meeting and two playoff series after Nash left Dallas for Phoenix. Since then, the Suns are 1-7 against Dallas. The Mavericks can finish a four-game season series sweep of the Suns today for their first sweep of Phoenix since 1986-87, the season that John MacLeod was fired. The Suns lost the last meeting March 27 in Phoenix despite holding Dallas to 38 percent shooting.

 

* Some player notes, with the help of Phoenix Phactoid Pharaoh Vince Kozar (still the Pharaoh despite a tweeter calling Hakim Warrick the Pharaoh):

• Aaron Brooks is averaging 12.4 points and 4.6 assists with 50 percent shooting in the past 11 games.
• Vince Carter has averaged 13.0 points and shot 46 percent as a reserve, not far removed from his overall average of 13.8 point per game as a Sun and an improvement for his overall 42 percent shooting.
• Josh Childress has appeared in the past 10 games, his longest streak since he played the first 23 games of the season.
• Jared Dudley is averaging 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 12 starts while shooting 53 percent.
• Marcin Gortat is averaging 13.9 points and 11. 1 rebounds in nine starts.
• Robin Lopez has played 16 minutes in the past three games without scoring, grabbing three rebounds and committing nine fouls.
• Hakim Warrick’s 81 dunks ranks 18^th in the NBA.

 

* Dallas sits in third place in the West,  one game behind the Lakers and one game ahead of the Thunder with those two teams playing today. Dallas would have to pass the Lakers to get second in the West because the Lakers have the tiebreaker, as would Oklahoma City have to pass Dallas because of the tiebreaker.

 

* Corey Brewer started in Friday’s win against the Clippers that snapped a four-game losing streak but his 20-point, six-rebound, four-assist, four-steal game won’t keep him there. Kidd is returning to start after two games out. Brewer went from shooting 39.7 percent with Minnesota to shooting 54 percent in 10 games with Dallas, which signed him after New York waived him.

 

* Kidd had become a better 3-point shooting in the past two seasons, making more than 40 percent of his tries. But in March and April, he has gone 23 for 98 on 3s (23.5 percent).

 

* Three of the league’s seven oldest players are in today’s game, including 75 years of starting point guards.

 

* If the Suns win their final road game tonight, they will finish with an 18-23 road mark, the same one they had two years ago. That team also missed the playoffs but still won 46 games because it went 28-13 at home. These Suns are 21-18 at home with games remaining against Minnesota on Monday and San Antonio on Wednesday.

 

Tweetin’ at www.twitter.com/paulcoro

Just seven years removed from his NBA playing career, it hasn’t been unusual for first-year New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams to run across current players who were once teammates or others Williams played against.

But Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill and Williams, who played together with the Orlando Magic, share a bond so close that Hill and his wife, Tamia, named their second daughter after Williams’ oldest daughter, Lael.

So the last time these teams played March 25 at Phoenix, Williams and Hill engaged in running repartee between each other and game officials about Hill’s exaggerating falls to the floor.

“It is weird. It’s even more weird because we’re close friends,” Williams said. “We were actually yelling at each other last game because he’s flopping, and I was telling the ref he was flopping. So he comes down the floor, and he’s talking to the ref, but he’s really talking to me that he wasn’t flopping.”

Hill smiled at the recollection Friday night at the New Orleans Arena.

“I learned a lot from him,” Hill said. “Put it that way. I learned a lot from him. As he knows, when you get older, you’ve got to try to use every advantage you have.”

Hill said Williams is a caring friend and person on whom he leaned during injury-filled years in Orlando, when a recurring and degenerative ankle condition nearly caused a pre-mature end to his career.

“I’m a big fan of his,” Hill said. “We lived about four houses down from each other in Orlando. And he was there when it was a real dark time for me, when I thought about quitting. He and his wife (Ingrid) are unbelievable people. To have him as an example, and to hang out with him, learn from him. Obviously, I’m tickled to death how much these guys are responding and how much success he’s had as a coach. But I’m more impressed with him as a person and human being.”

“He’s very smart. He knows how to relate to guys. I think he cares about guys; I think he genuinely wants guys to do well on and off the court, and I think the guys respect that and certainly are aware of that and makes them want to go out and compete and play harder for him.”

Hill had 15 points for the Suns in the Hornets’ 109-97 win.

Williams, who began the year as the youngest coach in the NBA at 39, since eclipsed by Indiana Coach Frank Vogel, also has coached against Dallas’ Jason Kidd and Miami’s Juwan Howard whom he played against, and is currently coaching Willie Green, who was a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers in Williams’ last season.

“I’ve had a number of guys I played against and played with and now coaching against those guys,” Williams said. “It’s weird because they obviously never thought they’d see me coaching, let alone being a head coach — and they’ve let me know it a number of times.

“It’s amazing. The bible says, ‘God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.’ I’m definitely one of those foolish things. I think there’s a little bit of respect for what we’ve done, but a little bit of a wow factor that I’m the one kind of heading it up. They laugh and crack their jokes. After a while, then they realize we’re trying to do a good job.”

NO NASH: Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash sat out Friday night’s game for the Suns because of a right hamstring injury.

That put Aaron Brooks in the starting lineup at point guard for Phoenix.

“That probably frees them up a little more, and they’ll look for scoring somewhere else,” Williams said. “Aaron Brooks gave us a tough time last time (scoring 17 points in 15 1/2 minutes), but it also takes a two-time MVP off the floor. It obviously changes them, but that can’t change our focus.”

Brooks scored nine points with nine assists Friday night.

EYE ON THE BOARD: Williams steadfastly has held true to the mantra of not looking ahead.

But now that the Hornets have clinched a playoff berth, he conceded he’s doing some scoreboard-watching to see how the final seedings might fall.

Late Friday night, the Lakers were playing at Portland, which entered the night a half-game ahead of New Orleans in sixth.

Would be Lakers’ fan Friday night?

“Never, ever, ever, ever will I be a Lakers fan,” Williams said. “I’m just hoping Portland doesn’t play as well. Whatever that means.”

Last season, the Phoenix Suns were one Ron Artest(notes) offensive rebound away from, well, still being a game away from the NBA Finals. Still, the team gave the Lakers a good scare in the Western Conference finals, before undergoing some significant changes in the offseason.

Like, losing an all-world scoring big man who can drop 30 in his sleep. And often did.

With Amar’e Stoudemire(notes) in New York, and the second-option-by-committee thing failing miserably, the Suns fell short of the playoffs this season. Star guard Steve Nash(notes) has been hampered by personal difficulty and injuries all season, and with the regular season coming to a close next week, he decided to try out a little lottery-bound gallows humor on Twitter on Tuesday morning.

That’s the attitude, mate. Of course ol’ @Coley_Coles had to go and point out that it was ridiculous for a rabbi, a horse, and Helen Keller to be walking into a bar at the same time:

(Steve’s words, like mine, are in parenthesis.)

I think I know dry humor. On my junior kindergarten (a grade local to Chicago, I guess) report card, Mrs. Henry actually pointed out that “Kelly has a very dry sense of humor,” which is a pretty remarkable thing when you consider that there aren’t a lot of five-year olds out there that remind of Dick Cavett. So of course it’s nice to see Steve bringing the ha-ha even if his season hasn’t been a barrel of laughs. I mean that. Seriously. I’m a little dry, but it’s not a joke.

(By the way, the rabbi says, “I said Midori stone SOUR!” It’s a really good joke.)

Related: Amar’e Stoudemire, Ron Artest, Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns

By JP Starkey – Associate Editor

Read More: Jason Terry (G – DAL), Dirk Nowitzki (F – DAL), Marcin Gortat (F – PHO), Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns

Follow , and Like SB Nation Dallas on Facebook.

Mar 27, 2011 -

(Sports Network) – The playoff-bound Dallas Mavericks continue their final road trip of the regular season tonight, when they resume a six-game trek by visiting the Phoenix Suns.

Dallas is 25-10 away from Big D and will also visit the Clippers, Lakers, Warriors and Trail Blazers. The club is currently six games behind San Antonio in the Southwest Division and one game in back of the Lakers for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with 10 to play.

The Mavericks have won three in a row since losing three of four games and opened their trek with a 94-77 rout in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Jason Terry scored 22 points off the bench, including 10 during a huge fourth quarter, in that one to lift Dallas.

Trailing by two points entering the fourth, the Mavericks outscored Utah 36-17 the rest of the way. Although neither player was on the court for more than six minutes in the fourth quarter, Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points and Shawn Marion scored 13 in the victory.

Dallas, after shooting below 39 percent for the first three quarters, went 11- for-17 in the fourth (65 percent) including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range.

“Offensively, we just made stuff happen. Guys got hot,” said Nowitzki. “We definitely made some timely shots, but I think the difference was the defense.”

The Suns, meanwhile, are in desperate straights, three games behind Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, after falling to a David West-less New Orleans team on Friday.

Chris Paul poured in 22 points, including several key buckets at the end of the game in that one as New Orleans overcame losing West for the season with a 106-100 win over the Suns in the desert. The Hornets received the devastating news earlier Friday that West tore his ACL during Thursday’s 121-117 overtime victory over Utah.

Grant Hill and Marcin Gortat each had 18 points for the Suns, who have dropped two of their last three and remain in 10th place in the West. Gortat left in the third quarter and did not return after suffering a broken nose when he walked into Suns guard Steve Nash’s head following a Hornets bucket.

Jared Dudley and Aaron Brooks both came off the bench to contribute 17 points in the loss.

“It was a big game,” Brooks said. “We needed to come out and play hard but the ball didn’t bounce our way. The effort that we gave is the effort that we have to give for the rest of the season minus some small mistakes.”

Gortat, who is averaging a double-double of 18.4 points and 11.2 boards in his last five games, had his nose manipulated back into place by doctors on Saturday and is listed as questionable for tonight’s game.

The Mavericks have won six of seven over the Suns, including both meetings this season.

The Suns left Los Angeles on Tuesday night with broken hearts, weary legs and at least one bad stomach from a triple-overtime loss to the Lakers.

Photos from the game | Box score

The last thing they wanted was to find out they had lost two games in LA.

After all, the Toronto Raptors already were waiting in Phoenix, rested and ready to face the Suns on Wednesday night at US Airways Center.

“We have to make sure not to compound the mistakes and lose another one,” Suns reserve Jared Dudley warned before the game. “Playing back-to-back is already hard in itself, and anytime you play triple-overtime (it’s harder).

“The thing is, we’re coming home against a team that’s bad, and we need every win we can get. You don’t want it to carry over. The starters played big minutes and the bench has to play big.”

The reserves did just that.

With backup point guard Aaron Brooks scoring 25 points, the Suns found enough left in the tank to dig out of a 13-point second-half hole and beat the Raptors 114-106.

“I thought it was our best win of the year, really,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said.

“Everybody who came in did a little something to help the team. That’s what was good about it.”

Gentry essentially turned the game over to his reserves, especially after Grant Hill came out after six minutes and headed to the locker room because of flulike symptoms.

“Grant tried to start the game, but he’s just exhausted and we sent him home,” Gentry said.

It got worse when reserve Mickael Pietrus also exited after spraining his right knee. He will undergo an MRI exam Thursday to determine the extent of the injury.

And Steve Nash, who still is trying to recover from pelvic instability, was limited.

So remaining reserves combined to score 63 points. Marcin Gortat had 15 points and eight rebounds.

Dudley scored 13.

But it was Brooks who lifted the Suns out of the 13-point deficit.

Then Channing Frye, Dudley and Brooks hit big 3-point shots down the stretch.

The Suns couldn’t afford a Los Angeles hangover as tired, disappointed or sick as they might have felt.

Two teams the Suns have to leapfrog to reach the playoffs – Memphis and Houston – won. The Grizzlies won in Boston. The Rockets drilled Golden State.

“It was kind of hard. We got in late, but we got it done,” Brooks said. “Coach told us to be ready, and we came in, provided a little spark.”

Trailing by 13 points late in the third quarter, the Suns came alive behind Brooks, who fueled a 15-2 Phoenix spurt.

He scored nine points in the run, capped by a driving layup at the buzzer.

The Raptors came back to take a three-point lead again, but Gortat scored inside, Brooks drained a 3-pointer, and Nash closed out Toronto by connecting on an 18-foot jump shot with 23 seconds to go.

“The starters came out there, and they got a little tired, and sometimes the ball wasn’t bouncing the right way,” Brooks said. “We knew the importance of this game, and we came in and did our job. They carried the torch in the Lakers game, and it was our turn to go in there and do our jobs.”

The Raptors, who came in with only six victories on the road all season, got 27 points from center Andrea Bargnani, who got them off to the fast start.

Like Hill, Nash played only six first-half minutes and 21 in the game. He still finished with 16 points and eight assists.

“It was tough, obviously,” Nash said. “It was a tough game (in Los Angeles), physically and emotionally. But we had guys step up, and mentally we really responded. Aaron, in particular, was great, but I thought everyone played their parts.”

View from the press box

Suns coach Alvin Gentry has shown in the past that he trusts his players. And when he found that Aaron Brooks was struggling when Gentry called plays for him, he told Brooks to call his own plays. Brooks credited that freedom for his season-high 25-point effort as he was able to get into plays more quickly and maintain a flow in the offense.

Report

Key player

Aaron Brooks came off the Suns’ bench to play more than 33 minutes in relief of Steve Nash and scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He hit 4 of 7 3-point shots.

Key moment

The Suns trailed by 13 late in the third quarter when Brooks caught fire. He hit a 3-point shot and three driving layups in a 15-2 Phoenix run that tied it. The last basket just beat the buzzer at the end of the quarter following a turnover by former Phoenix St. Mary’s High standout Jerryd Bayless, whose night got worse when he picked up a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter against Channing Frye.

Key number

63 Points scored by the Suns’ reserves.

The Suns’ 139-137 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday night in Los Angeles left them three games behind eighth-place Memphis with 13 games to play entering Wednesday’s game against Toronto.

The Suns wiped out a 21-point Lakers lead in 10 second-half minutes. They needed a Steve Nash offensive rebound and Channing Frye to get fouled on a 3-pointer to tie the score in the first overtime. They needed another clutch Frye 3, after he had shot 2 for 10 on 3s, to survive a second overtime.

But they could not survive Grant Hill fouling out in the third overtime. Hill smothered Kobe Bryant into 2-for-12 shooting from the time he returned in the fourth quarter until he was assessed his sixth foul. The Suns led 132-130, but Bryant made a 3 on the next play and Ron Artest followed with a steal, a dunk and a jumper against Hill’s replacement, Vince Carter.

“It was one of the most exciting games of my life,” said Marcin Gortat, who set a Suns record for reserve double-doubles (16) with 24 points and 16 rebounds in 53 minutes. “It’s just so freaking bad that we lost this game. We had a lot of good moments.”

Frye logged 57 minutes, scoring 32 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Nash had 19 points and 20 assists in 49 minutes. Despite Hill’s clutch defense, Bryant still finished with 42 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists with 13-of-25 shooting.

The Suns stood no chance without what Hill did on Bryant after entering the game with the Suns down seven and 4:43 to go in regulation.

“I was a little mad because he hit some shots and going in the third quarter,” Hill said. “I was just trying to compete and throw him different looks and force him different ways.”

The Suns and Lakers kept the dedicated portion of the East Coast TNT audience up until 2 a.m. watching Phoenix’s eighth overtime game this season (4-4).

Nash was pleased with the effort but disappointed.

“We didn’t get many breaks or calls, but we battled,” said Nash, who questioned the final two fouls called on Hill. “In the end, we just didn’t do enough. I’m definitely proud of the guys. We fought and played hard. . . . Grant’s last two fouls were very difficult.”

The Suns had chances. Carter, who shot 7 for 23, missed a 3 to win at the end of regulation and a go-ahead 3 in the final seconds of the third quarter.

“We just couldn’t make the shot or couldn’t execute,” Hill said. “But you can’t fault the effort. We fought hard. We compete and played with a lot of heart.”

It was the Suns’ first triple-overtime game since they played two against New York and Denver in January 2006.

“We really needed this game,” Frye said. “This one hurts. We had opportunities to win and we didn’t take advantage of them.”

The Suns trailed by 21 in the third quarter, but Nash hit three 3-pointers over four possessions to help pull the Suns to within nine to start the fourth. Nash had made 11 of 14 3s in the three games preceding Wednesday night’s game.

The reserves, joining Frye, kept the turnaround going with 10 unanswered points early in the fourth quarter, including seven by Aaron Brooks, who returned from his one-game suspension strongly with 15 points in 14 minutes.

Barbosa’s back

Leandro Barbosa returned to US Airways Center for the first time since the Suns traded him to Toronto in mid-July in the ill-fated Hedo Turkoglu deal, which fulfilled Barbosa’s request to be traded.

Barbosa said he “drove around a lot by myself” upon returning to Phoenix, just to take things in.

“Some happy times, some sad times,” he said. “It is what it is. This is a business, and it happens sometimes. I’m on a different team, and I’ve got to play against my old team, which I was seven years here. So, it’s very emotional for me, a special time. But we will see how I do on the court with all these things.”

Barbosa said he discussed his situation with his older brother Arturo, and then asked to be traded.

“I wasn’t having my playing time, and I wanted to play more,” he said. “I guess there wasn’t room enough for me, and I love this game. I want to play, and decided to go to a different team. The traded me to Toronto, and here I am.

“It was a really, really hard decision. You know I loved playing here. I miss a lot of things about this team.”

He said Arturo agreed with him.

“I thought I could contribute more than I was doing for the team, and the main thing was playing time,” he said. “I respected that. I never complained about it.”

Coach Alvin Gentry said there are no hard feelings.

“I think Leandro felt like in order for him to move on and maximize what he felt like his abilities were he had to (go to another team),” Gentry said. “I think he talked to (former General Manager) Steve (Kerr) about it. There’s no hard feelings here. Everybody on this team and coaching staff really like him and appreciate what he did while he was here.”

Free throws

Against the Lakers, Nash posted his first 20-assist game since November 2009 and the eighth of his career. It pushed him to first, ahead of Boston’s Rajon Rondo, in assists per game entering Wednesday night. Nash is in position to win his fifth assists title in the past seven seasons.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, right, is defended by Phoenix Suns center Marcin Gortat in double overtime of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. The Lakers won 139-137 in triple overtime.

Kobe Bryant delivered a sensational performance to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a roller-coaster 139-137 triple-overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Bryant scored 42 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and made nine assists as the Lakers, who squandered a 21-point lead during regulation time, showed their championship mettle with their fifth successive win.
The defending NBA champions have compiled a 13-1 record since the All-Star Game break last month.
Providing a flurry in the third and final overtime, Bryant knocked in a go-ahead three-pointer and added a running two-point shot with 14 seconds remaining to send Los Angeles (51-20) to the triumph.
“We eventually prevailed,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters before adding a joke. “I was hoping to get out of here (earlier)… it’s a little past my bed time.”
Channing Frye led Phoenix with a career-high 32 points and made three free throws with one second left in the first overtime to send the game into a second extra session, where Lakers’ forward Pau Gasol forced the third extra period with two free throws.
The Suns (35-34) trailed by 21 in the third quarter but went on a furious run to stun the Lakers, with Grant Hill making a three-pointer late in the fourth to send the game into overtime after regulation ended 112-112.
Steve Nash recorded 19 points and a season-high 20 assists while reserve Marcin Gortat finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds for the visitors.

Kobe Bryant scored 42 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns in a 139-137 triple over time thriller overnight at the Staples Center.

 Lamar Odom finished with a season-high 29 points and 16 rebounds in the Lakers’ 13th win in 14 games since the All-Star break.

Channing Frye scored a career-high 32 points and Steve Nash added 19 points and 20 assists in the Suns’ fifth loss in seven games.

Bryant would have a memorable night. He picked off a pass from Steve Nash and drove in for two to give the Lakers a 7-6 lead, early in the opening quarter.

Nash came back with a deep three pointer late in the quarter to move the Suns in front 31-25.

Phoenix led 31-27 at the end of the 1st quarter but the Lakers would hold advantage 66-60 when the first half come to a close.

Following the break, Spain’s Pau Gasol hit a short jumper over the Suns Robin Lopez to increase the lead to eight, early in the 3rd quarter.

Lamar Odom proved to have the hot hand for the Lakers in the 3rd and drove in for a three point play to open up an 80-63 Lakers advantage, midway through the quarter.

Odom scored a season-high 29 points and made 16 rebounds for the Lakers.

The Suns came back to cut the deficit to 95-86 on Channing Frye’s three pointer, at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Phoenix kept bombing from the outside and trimmed the lead to 97-96 on Aaron Brooks three pointer from the top of the key, three minutes into the 4th quarter.

With 31 seconds left in regulation, Grant Hill dropped in a corner three to pull the Suns even at 112 apiece.

Tied at 112-apiece at the end of the 4th quarter, the game went to overtime.

Nash fed Marcin Gortat for a basket underneath to make it 116-114 Suns, midway through the extra session. Nash had 19 points and 20 assists in the contest.

Ron Artest took a pass from Bryant and sunk a clutch three pointer to give the Lakers a 119-116 lead, with a minute and a half left in OT.

Frye hit three free throws with just 1.1 seconds left to send the game to double overtime tied at 121 each.

The Suns took a 130-128 lead on Frye’s wide open three pointer late in the session. Frye scored a career-high 32 points for Phoenix.

Gasol then sent the game to triple overtime by making two free throws with two seconds left.

Bryant took matters into his own hands and drove through the Suns defence for a tough basket and a 139-135 Lakers lead, with 14 seconds left in the third overtime. Bryant scored a game high 42 points.

Los Angeles held to edge Phoenix 139-137, to improve to 13-1 since the All-Star break.

 

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 139-137 in triple overtime in the NBA on Wednesday.

Phoenix’s Grant Hill netted a game-tying three-pointer in the final minute to make it 112-all, and that was the way it stayed at the final buzzer.

The teams were split at nine points apiece in the opening period of overtime, and two Pau Gasol free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining in second overtime tied the game at 130-all.

But the Lakers finally sealed the victory, and dealt the Suns’ playoff hopes a body blow, when they scored nine points in the third OT period to Phoenix’s seven.

Kobe Bryant amassed a whopping 42 points for the victorious Lakers, while Channing Frye top scored for the Suns with 32.

The Suns remain in 10th spot in the Western Conference, four wins off eighth side Memphis in their quest to reach the post-season, while the Lakers are clear in second spot, having already secured the Pacific Division.

The Chicago Bulls continued their charge towards the playoffs with a 114-81 victory over Atlanta on Tuesday.

The Bulls made up for their atrocious visit to the Hawks’ Philips Arena last time out, when they rescinded a 19-point lead to lose, by smashing Atlanta by 33 points, with Derrick Rose contributing 30 in the rout.

Luol Deng netted 25 points in a match where Chicago led by 47 during the final quarter, before a late Atlanta scoring period saved some face for the hosts in the loss.

Jeff Teague top scored for the Hawks with 20, 17 of which in the dead time of the final quarter, while Josh Smith and Al Horford were respectable contributors with 14 points apiece.

The Portland Trail Blazers thrashed the Washington Wizards 111-76, courtesy of 28 points to forward Gerald Wallace.

Nicolas Batum and Lemarcus Aldridge contributed 22 points each for the victors as they racked up win number 41 for the campaign.