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That’s all for today.

Even though the 2011-12 NBA season is in jeopardy due to the current NBA lockout, the schedule for the season has been released today. In case the lockout is settled, the Phoenix Suns will begin the regular season with a three-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder (11/2), Los Angeles Lakers (11/4), and the Portland Trail Blazers (11/6).

Think that’s bad? The Suns would then head to the midwest for a six-game road trip, with several tough road tilts to deal with including Memphis, Indiana, Detroit and Toronto.

Should Phoenix have the opportunity to take the court this season, they will have ten nationally televised games (eight on ESPN, two on TNT).

Does any of this matter? With Jared Dudley saying the likelihood of a deal is a long ways off, the NBA might just be pandering at this point.

By releasing a schedule for the upcoming season, the owners are placing an urgency on the players to acquiesce to their demands. Their theory could be that fans will grow impatient with the season coming up and the games still in question.

Has that changed the way the NFL has gone about their process? Not really. The NFL’s schedule has been out for months yet the players are still locked out. Unlike the NFL, though, no one really expects the NBA to play in 2011-12. 

That’s all for today.

by Paul Coro – Jul. 14, 2011 06:36 PM
The Arizona Republic

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The Associated Press

Posted:

Jul 14, 2011 5:40 PM ET

Last Updated:

Jul 14, 2011 5:40 PM ET

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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.

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Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 5:59 AM

New Orleans Hornets vs. Phoenix Suns

Time/Place: 7 p.m., the New Orleans Arena.

Radio: 106.7-FM. 830-AM (Spanish). TV: CST.

NOTABLE: New Orleans gave up a season-high 17 3-pointers in Monday’s 114-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets. … The Hornets are 23-10 at home, 12-8 against Southwest Division opponents. … Marco Belinelli has scored in double figures in seven of the past nine games. … Point guard Chris Paul has averaged 24 points, 12 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the past four games. … With 13 games remaining, the Hornets entered Tuesday in sixth place in the Western Conference, but only a half-game ahead of the seventh-place Portland Trail Blazers. … Suns point guard Steve Nash is expected to play after missing two games with symphysis irritation.

HORNETS

Player Pos Ht. Wt. PPG

Chris Paul G 6-0 175 16.3

Marco Belinelli G 6-5 200 10.2

Emeka Okafor C 6-10 255 10.4

David West F 6-9 240 18.8

Trevor Ariza F 6-8 210 10.9

Reserves: D. Andersen, C, 3.5; A. Gray, C, 2.9; W. Green, G, 8.6; J. Jack, G, 8.6. D.J. Mbenga, C, 1.3; J. Smith, F-C, 4.4; Q. Pondexter, F, 2.7; C. Landry, F, 11.7; J. McNeal, G, 0.0.

SUNS

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. PPG

Steve Nash G 6-3 178 15.7

Vince Carter G 6-6 220 14.6

Robin Lopez C 7-0 255 7.5

Hakim Warrick F 6-9 219 8.8

Grant Hill F 6-8 225 13.4

Reserves: M. Gortat, C, 8.7; M. Pietrus, G-F, 7.5; J. Dudley, F, 9.4; A. Brooks, G, 10.9; J. Childress, G-F, 5.1; Z. Dowdell, G, 4.5; G. Siler, C, 1.7; G. Lawal, F, 0.0.

NEW ORLEANS STAT PHOENIX

27th, 94.7 ppg Scoring 4th, 104.8 ppg

4th, 92.9 ppg Defense 26th, 105.4 ppg

21st, 40.5 rpg Rebounding 24th, 40.1 rpg

21st, 20.4 apg Assists 5th, 23.4

18th, 45.8 FG pct 6th, 47.0

16th, 35.4 3-pt pct 24th, 38.0

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By Tom Ziller – NBA Contributor

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Mar 2, 2011 - When the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics last met, things got weird. The Suns killed the Celtics, and Kevin Garnett tapped Channing Frye in the groin on a jumper. Anger was expressed, The Big Ticket was ejected, jokes were had. But Boston doesn’t take defeat with a laugh, and there’s little question that Garnett and the Celtics will be eager to express their payback on the scoreboard as the Suns visit TD Banknorth Garden on Wednesday (7:30 PM Eastern, local TV and League Pass).

The Celtics enter March winners of two straight, having defeated the Clippers and Jazz on the road to finish the team’s four-game post-All-Star road trip 3-1. Boston maintains a one-game lead on the Miami Heat for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but is in a dead heat with the Dallas Mavericks for the second-best record in the NBA overall.

The Suns, meanwhile, are merely hoping to catch up with a playoff spot. The Suns have won two straight road games on two straight Channing Frye game-winning jumpers. Phoenix actually has one fewer loss than the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies, but three fewer wins. The Portland Trail Blazers are also just a game ahead of Phoenix for the No. 7 seed, and the Nuggets and Hornets are right ahead of the Blazers, meaning that a few games might be the difference between the No. 5 seed in the West and the lottery. The Suns aren’t expected to beat teams like the Celtics, but a victory would be a huge boon.

Gotta run!.

PHOENIX — Steve Nash had 23 points, including a 3-pointer that put Phoenix ahead for good with 1:11 to play, and handed out 13 assists, directing the Suns to a 115-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Grant Hill, back after missing two games with a sprained knee, scored 21 for the Suns, who have won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 5.

Andre Miller scored all 19 of his points in the second half for the Trail Blazers in the last of four games between the teams this season. Portland won the first three.

Six players, including all five starters, reached double figures for Phoenix.

Wesley Matthews scored 26 and LaMarcus Aldridge 25 for the Blazers. Nicolas Batum added 18.

The 38-year-old Hill became the 14th active player to reach 16,000 points.

Hill had appeared in 70 consecutive regular-season games before he was sidelined with the minor knee ailment.

Vince Carter scored 17 for Phoenix and Jared Dudley 13 off the bench for the Suns, who shot 54 percent for the game, including 10 of 19 on 3-pointers.

The two straight Phoenix victories have followed an embarrassing 132-98 loss at Denver that led Suns president Lon Babby to apologize to fans.

Portland led by as many as 13 in the second quarter but Phoenix came back to cut it to 59-56 at the break and it was tight throughout the second half.

Channing Frye — who had 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks — blocked Patrick Mills’ layup attempt, then sank a 3-pointer that put the Suns ahead 96-94 with 8:05 to play. Goran Dragic’s driving layup down the lane made it 98-94. Phoenix stayed ahead, but never by more than four, before Portland tied it at 108 with Batum’s two free throws 1:21 from the finish.

Nash took the inbounds pass, dribbled across center court, and as he has done so many times before, let it fly from the top of the key for the game’s most crucial basket.

After uncharacteristically missing two free throws in the game, Nash made two from the line to finally seal it with 4.4 seconds to go.

The Blazers shot 63 percent in the first quarter but just 37 percent in the second and finished the game at 48 percent.

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PHOENIX (AP)—Thanks largely to a big game from their two old guys, the Phoenix Suns have won two in a row for the first time in more than a month.

Steve Nash(notes), who turns 37 on Feb. 7, had 23 points, including a 3-pointer that put Phoenix ahead for good with 1:11 to play, and handed out 13 assists, directing the Suns to a 115-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Grant Hill(notes), back after missing two games with a sprained knee, scored 21 for the Suns, who hadn’t won consecutive games since Dec. 5. The 38-year-old Hill became the 14th active player to reach 16,000 points.

“It’s certainly special,” Hill said of the milestone, “to be able to continue to play after a lot of injuries and still be out there. Sometimes I get depressed because I could have more, but I will take the 16,000 and won’t be greedy.”

Hill had appeared in 70 consecutive regular-season games before he was sidelined with the minor knee ailment.

Andre Miller(notes) scored all 19 of his points in the second half for the Trail Blazers in the last of four games between the teams this season. Portland won the first three.

“We struggled with this team as much as anyone because they do a good job of dictating tempo,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. “We had not scored 100 on them this season and even in the playoffs it was really hard to and to get a rhythm and play. Tonight we kept forcing the issue and got the tempo up where it needed to be.”

Six players, including all five starters, reached double figures for Phoenix.

Wesley Matthews(notes) scored 26 and LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) 25 for the Blazers. Nicolas Batum(notes) added 18.

Vince Carter(notes) scored 17 for Phoenix and Jared Dudley(notes) 13 off the bench for the Suns, who shot 54 percent for the game, including 10 of 19 on 3-pointers.

“You need to get stops,” Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. “They came down and Nash made some big shots, some big plays down the stretch with their pick and roll, had a couple of buckets and a couple of assists. One-hundred eleven points is enough, should be enough, to win a ballgame, but defensively they shoot over 50 percent from the floor as well as from the 3-point line.”

The two straight Phoenix victories have followed an embarrassing 132-98 loss at Denver that led Suns president Lon Babby to apologize to fans.

Portland led by as many as 13 in the second quarter but Phoenix came back to cut it to 59-56 at the break and it was tight throughout the second half.

Channing Frye(notes)—who had 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks—blocked Patrick Mills’(notes) layup attempt, then sank a 3-pointer that put the Suns ahead 96-94 with 8:05 to play. Goran Dragic’s(notes) driving layup down the lane made it 98-94. Phoenix stayed ahead, but never by more than four, before Portland tied it at 108 with Batum’s two free throws 1:21 from the finish.

Nash took the inbounds pass, dribbled across center court, and as he has done so many times before, let it fly from the top of the key for the game’s most crucial basket.

“We tried to take away their easy drives,” Matthews said. “We switched up, and he comes and hits a big 3 on us.”

Nash slipped out of the locker room without talking to reporters.

After uncharacteristically missing two free throws in the game, Nash made two from the line to finally seal it with 4.4 seconds to go.

By going 5 for 7 from the line, Nash fell slightly behind Mark Price as the most accurate free throw shooter in NBA history. Price is at 90.3895 percent, Nash at 90.3526. Nash can move back on top by making 12 straight free throws.

Notes: Nash’s string of 48 consecutive free throws ended when he missed one on a defensive 3-second technical foul against Portland with 6:37 left in the second quarter. … The Blazers shot 63 percent in the first quarter but just 37 percent in the second and finished the game at 48 percent. … The Trail Blazers last swept a season series from Phoenix by going 3-0 in the strike-shortened 1998-99 season. … Hill made two 3s in a game for the first time since April 7. … Phoenix’s third straight home win tied a season high. … The Blazers, who will be without star Brandon Roy(notes) indefinitely because of arthroscopic surgery next week on both knees, fell to 20-20. … Dudley had a four-point play in the second quarter.

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The Dallas Mavericks will close out a six-game homestand tonight versus Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center.

(Sports Network) – The Dallas Mavericks will close out a six-game homestand tonight versus Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center.

Dallas had a season-best 12-game winning streak stopped with a loss versus Milwaukee earlier this week, but rebounded with Wednesday’s 103-98 decision over the Portland Trail Blazers. Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Caron Butler scored 23 points for the Mavs, who pushed their home mark to 12-4 this season and improved to 4-1 on the residency.

The Mavericks blew a 17-point advantage, but were able to hold on for their 13th victory in 14 tries.

“Right now that has kind of been the trend,” said Mavericks guard Jason Kidd, who had 11 points, seven boards and six assists. “We get up by 20 and then all of the sudden we find ourselves up only two or three points, so we need to figure that out and understand as a team that once we have a team down, we’ve got to keep them done.”

Dallas is 20-5 through 25 games and went 22-3 after 25 games in 2002-03, marking the only time in team history it had a better record after 25 games. The Mavs notched 12 turnovers versus the Blazers and improved to 7-1 this season when committing 12 or fewer turnovers in a game.

Meanwhile, the Suns will begin a three-game road trip tonight against Dallas, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, and are 5-7 away from the desert.

Phoenix ended a three-game slide and salvaged the finale of a three-game homestand with Wednesday’s 128-122 triumph over Minnesota, as Jason Richardson scored a game-high 29 points and both Grant Hill and Channing Frye added 21 points for the Suns, who have won four of seven games overall.

“It’s a win. Right now that’s the best thing that could happen to us. We just needed a win,” Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry said.

Nash had 11 points and 19 assists in a winning effort. Nash is averaging 16.9 points and 12.4 assists in his last 11 games. Hill has scored in double figures in 14 of last 15 contests for Phoenix, which has won 11 of the last 20 games following a 1-3 start to the season.

Richardson has posted 20 or more points in eight of his last 11 games.

Dallas took two of three matchups from the Suns a season ago and has won seven of the last 10 encounters with Phoenix. The Mavs have scored at least 100 points in 23 of the previous 24 games in this series. Phoenix is winless in its last five visits to Big D.

© 2010 The Sports Network

That’s all for today.

by Paola Boivin, columnist – Dec. 10, 2010 11:27 PM
The Arizona Republic

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Earlier this week, the Phoenix Suns were unsuccessful in going for their longest winning streak of the season at the expense of the Portland Trail Blazers. This time, they’re trying to avoid matching their longest slide, and their bench could provide the difference.

The Suns attempt to gain a measure of revenge as they host the Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Phoenix (11-11) has lost twice to Portland (11-11) already this season, but both were on the road.

The Suns committed 19 turnovers Tuesday in the most recent matchup, a 106-99 defeat that ended a three-game winning streak that matched their longest of 2010-11.

Phoenix failed to rebound from that performance the following night, losing 104-98 in overtime to Memphis. The Suns got 58 points from their bench, which forced the extra session by helping them outscore the Grizzlies 28-14 in the fourth quarter.

“It was a tough loss,” said forward Grant Hill(notes), who finished with 10 points. “The fourth quarter was unbelievable. The second unit was awesome, but I’m still in shock at what happened.”

Now, the Suns are left hoping they can avoid matching their season-high three-game slide that occurred on the road from Nov. 17-20.

Phoenix has won six of eight at home, averaging 112.0 points in the victories.

The Suns have also dominated the Trail Blazers at US Airways Center, winning 18 of the last 22 meetings. Two victories came in the first round of the 2010 playoffs, including a 107-88 series-clinching win as the reserves totaled 55 points.

The Suns’ bench could be key again Friday, as it leads the Western Conference with 38.2 points per game and has averaged 42.3 over the last seven games.

“It’s tough trying to play 10 guys, but one of the advantages of having 10 guys that are pretty good players is that you can try to manufacture some kind of lineup that can help get you back into the game,” coach Alvin Gentry told the team’s official website. “We just got to keep searching and see what we find.”

Guard Steve Nash(notes) may be looking to improve upon his performance from Wednesday as he scored 11 points with seven assists and eight turnovers.

The two-time MVP had 24 points and 15 assists against the Blazers the previous night.

Portland is looking to show improvement on the road as it opens a four-game trip with stops in San Antonio and Dallas, the current owners of the two best records in the West.

The Trail Blazers went 0-4 on their last trip and have dropped seven of eight as the visitor. They haven’t endured five consecutive road defeats since Feb. 4-25, 2009.

Portland, however, swept its three-game homestand since its last road jaunt, capping the stretch with an impressive 97-83 win over Southeast Division-leading Orlando on Thursday.

Having Andre Miller(notes) back for this visit to Phoenix should help. The guard had 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds Thursday after serving a one-game suspension against the Suns for “excessive and unnecessary contact” with Blake Griffin(notes) during Sunday’s 100-91 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

“My motivation was to keep my emotions intact – come back normal, like it was any other game,” said Miller, who has averaged 22.8 points and 8.0 assists in his last five visits to Phoenix.

Gotta run!.

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