Read More: Alvin Gentry (H – PHO), Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns didn’t make it easy on themselves but a strong showing from the second unit to start the fourth quarter gave them the separation needed to get a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Bobcats pushed their halftime lead to ten points early in the third quarter before Alvin Gentry called a time out. From that point on the Suns had the game tied at the end of three and were up 10 halfway through the fourth quarter.

The hero of the night was Robin Lopez who scored 13 points to go along with six rebounds and solid defense in his 19 minutes of play. Josh Childress was strong as well as the bench was able to allow Steve Nash to rest until the four minute mark.

“The major problem was when Lopez came in,” Bobcats coach Paul Silas said, “We didn’t box him out and it really just changed the whole game around.”

The Suns held the Bobcats to and just 17 points in the fourth quarter with about half of those coming in the final desperate minutes. Phoenix was led by Michael Redd who got the start in place of the injured Jared Dudley. Redd finished with 17 points on 6-12 shooting. Rookie point guard Kemba Walker had 22 points for Charlotte.

The much-needed home win gives the Suns a 9-14 record on the season while the Bobcats fall to 3-21. The Suns now travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks on Monday and then to Milwaukee to meet the Bucks on Tuesday.

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The Phoenix Suns are 6-11 having just lost their third-straight home game to a team with a record even worse than their own. They had a lead on the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night before the energy gave out and the game slipped away in the third quarter. Just another tough loss in a season with too many of them already.

Steve Nash pointed out the obvious, saying, “We just don’t have the talent to go out there and win games. We’ve got to find a little bit something extra; we’ve got to find a little magic and our chemistry and cohesion and we haven’t found it yet.”

Nash also admitted that it’s difficult to build chemistry when you are losing games. It’s a Catch-22.

So what do you do?

“You got to just keep your head down and keep working and keep believing and if you do that long enough, good things will happen,” Nash explained.

Coach Gentry had a similar response in his postgame comments, vowing to never give up the fight.

“There’s nobody that’s going to quit. We’re not going to let anybody quit and we’ll continue to try to figure it out and we’ll continue to try and turn our season around. No one’s going to throw in the towel, I know that. I’m not going to allow that.”

So there you have it. Your Phoenix Suns. Not enough talent to just win games without a little magic but refusing to quit.

It’s good to hear that players and coaches making millions and millions of dollars to play a game won’t be quiting anytime soon…as for the rest of us, when does Spring Training start?

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Read More: Andrea Bargnani (F – TOR), Markieff Morris (F – PHO), Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Raptors at Phoenix Suns, Jan 24, 2012 7:00 PM MST

The Phoenix Suns really needed to get a home win against a 4-13 Toronto Raptors team. Second of a back-to-back coming off a five-game road trip or not, this was a game the Suns needed and blew thanks mostly to another horrible third quarter (see also Dallas, game, loss). The final score in the miserable affair was 99-96 and dropped the Suns to 6-11 on the season.

The Suns took a four-point lead into the second half thanks to 53 percent shooting show and capable defense against one of the league’s worst offensive teams. Then things fell apart and fast as the Suns gave up 18 points to Andrea Bargnani in the third quarter with the skilled Italian put another page rookie Markieff Morris’ “NBA Defense” lesson book.

The energy and chemistry was horrific at the end of the third and start of the fourth until Alvin Gentry called a timeout and threatened, cajoled or otherwise motivated the Suns into showing signs of life. The push cut into a 12-point Raptors lead with the Suns finally showing the kind of fight they needed to have for the entire 48 minutes.

Things got a little interesting in the final minute when Jared Dudley (finally) hit a three to cut the Raptors lead to four and then stole an inbound pass and dunked the ball to cut the margin only two points with 23 seconds on the clock.

But Bargnani made his two free throws after being intentionally fouled and Nash missed a fairly open layup to end the Suns’ chances of a miracle comeback in a game they didn’t deserve to win.

Steve Nash finished with 17 points and 14 assists and Marcin Gortat had his ninth-straight double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Bargnani scored 36 points in his first game back after missing the last five due to injury. Leandro Barbosa added 19 against his old team.

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Marcin Gortat scored 24 points, one shy of his career high to pace the Phoenix Suns to a 79-71 win at TD Garden. Gortat recorded 14 of his 24 points in the first quarter and collected 12 rebounds to register his seventh straight double-double.

The loss is the first for Boston against a team with a losing record; and have now lost four of their past five contests against the Suns. Boston’s 71 points represents a season low output for a Celtics squad that continues to have difficulty putting points on the board. Against one of the NBAs weaker defensive teams, the Celtics continue to struggle in the first quarter where the team scored just 15 points and 35 for the half.

The opening quarter struggles that have become customary for the 2011-12 seasons surfaced again; as the team shot a dismal 37% from the floor leading to 15 points. The low scoring output placed Boston in an all too familiar position; falling behind early and trailing for the majority of the contest. The main failing of the Celtics, and the area where Rondo’s absence was felt most was in the team’s inability to get to the basket; which was best represented in the team’s paltry two free throw attempts in the first half.

At the half, the Celtics trailed 46-35; shooting just 36% from the floor compared to 50% for the Suns.The third quarter would again provide Boston’s best output; as the Celtics would outscore the Suns 18-4 to gain a brief 53-50 lead. As soon as the lead would be gained, it would be quickly surrendered as Phoenix would close the quarter on a 8-0 run to regain a lead they would no surrender. Relatively a non-factor in the first half, perennial all-star Steve Nash came to life in the second half; as the 37 year old would control the tempo and overcome the early defensive harassment by Avery Bradley.

The Celtics would not score a point for a span of over seven minuted through the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth as the Suns put the game away with timely three point baskets in the game’s closing minutes.

Playing at a level of a player several years his junior, the 16 year veteran entered play on Friday as the NBAs assist leader with 10.1 per game while shooting a career best 55.2% from the floor. For the game, Nash would finish with 11 points, five rebounds and nine assists. During the first half, Nash seemed content setting up teammates for scoring chances and only looked to score when the situation called for it in the second half.

Rajon Rondo missed the game on Friday with a wrist sprain suffered in Wednesday night’s win against the Toronto Raptors. In his place, second year guard Bradley got the start and played solidly; applying constant ball pressure on Steve Nash while chipping in with 10 points four rebounds and three steals in the loss.

The Celtics loss comes at a time when local and national speculation centered on whether the team would be disassembled by team president Danny Ainge. In a recent article, I had indicated that the window of opportunity for the current Celtics team is rapidly closing and the time left for the current squad to prove their worth is very short; with Friday’s loss as another example of how this team lacks the offensive punch and athleticism to contend with the league’s best teams. The absence of Rondo had some impact on Friday’s outcome but he remaining players’ inability or lack of desire to attack the basket further demonstrates the team’s lack of urgency.

The Celtics travel to Washington for a Sunday afternoon tilt before playing back-to-back home and away contests against the Orlando Magic. After this week it will be clear whether this team has what it takes to not only contend on a nightly basis, but also regain their place among the Eastern Conference’s elite teams. Based on Friday’s performance, there is diminishing hope that the latter is still a possibility.

Scott Duhaime is a passionate fan of the Boston Celtics and avid follower of the NBA for over 30 years. His professional career includes a solid foundation of analytics that contributes to a better appreciation of player and team contributions.

Sources:

Yahoo! Sports NBA Standings and Team Statistics

Yahoo! Sports Boston Celtics Roster, Schedule and Statistics

Yahoo! Sports article: Has the Time Come to Break Up the Celtics? A Fan’s Take

Yahoo! Sports Box Score: Phoenix Suns 79 @ Boston Celtics 71

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