# Mavs have a lot to go for in Game 4



## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

3-1 edge would be huge, but Suns coach predicts 'a long, tough series'



12:21 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 30, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News 


PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns are adamant that they will continue being an irritant to the Mavericks, defiantly insisting they can still go places in the Western Conference finals – just not on vacation. 

The series is as close as it can be after three games, with the Mavericks up, 2-1. The Suns have been in far worse situations in the playoffs and haven't panicked. They aren't about to start now. 

"You guys are going to be hanging around Phoenix a lot more than you think you are," said coach Mike D'Antoni, predicting a return trip for Game 6 Saturday. "It's going to be a long, tough series. We can get this done. But we need to play better." 

The Mavericks will try to add to their lead tonight at US Airways Center. But this is a team that learns its lessons well. Even 3-1 doesn't guarantee anything. Barely a week ago, they were stuck in Game 7 against San Antonio after being up 3-1. 

"This is a big game, and we'd love to go back home 3-1," Keith Van Horn said. "It could be big. But even then, it could end up in seven games." 

The Mavericks claim they haven't "figured out" the Suns. But they clearly have solved the pace issue that bit them in Game 1. They have harnessed the Suns in the last two games, and when they fail to hit 100 points, they are 1-6 in the playoffs, 0-2 in this series. 

And the emotional pendulum appears to be permanently swung to the Mavs' side. They looked like the aggressor, the team that knows it has an edge, during their seven-point Game 3 win Sunday. 

"We're greedy now," Jason Terry said afterward. 

So it's time to make every effort to step on the Suns' throats. Just as they did in the San Antonio series, the Mavericks have a chance to go two games ahead. A 3-1 advantage has been coughed up only eight times in NBA history. Even though the Spurs forced Game 7, they didn't complete the comeback. 

The bottom line is that teams that go up 3-1 – particularly when they have two of the last three games at home – are extremely tough to beat. 

And there's good reason to believe the Mavericks will win tonight. They have won four consecutive Game 4s going back to a 2004 first-round loss against Sacramento. 

The Suns like to fall back on their history of periodic sluggish games. They have fought longer odds than they face against the Mavericks. This is a team that can look like it's lottery-bound one night, then make every shot for a week and sweep the rest of the games. 

They are a self-proclaimed live-by-the-jumper, die-by-the-jumper team. 

"We were down 1-3 in the first round," said Suns guard Raja Bell, who will miss his third consecutive game tonight with a calf injury. "This series is right where it's supposed to be, 2-1. We stole one at their place and they stole one here. 

"We have a history of being complacent for certain games. It happens. Our energy was pretty low for a game of that magnitude [Game 3]. But we've done this all year and all through the playoffs. Fatigue is not a problem. It's just what we do sometimes." 

Did the Mavericks have something to do with making the Suns look a step slow in Games 2 and 3? Of course. 

But the Suns didn't help their cause by giving the Mavericks anything they want at the offensive end, including a slew of second-chance opportunities after rebounding their own misses. 

As has been pointed out in the aftermath of Game 3, when Suns fans chant "De-fense, De-fense," it's more of a plea than anything else. 

E-mail [email protected]


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

Suns look to kick-start offense in Game 4 

Andrew Bagnato 
Associated Press 
May. 29, 2006 03:00 PM


PHOENIX - Sporting a small wound over his right eye, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash was backed up against a wall as he met with reporters after practice Monday.

That's where Nash's Suns will find themselves if they don't play better in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night. They're feeling bruised, but not beaten, after a 95-88 Game 3 loss to Dallas on Sunday left them trailing 2-1.

Afterward Nash, who got cut early in the game, said the Suns needed to show more fight. On Monday, Nash said he wasn't trying to send a message through the media because he had told his teammates the same thing. 

"I think at times we've been a little too passive," Nash said.

The Suns have to change that quickly or they will be eliminated one step short of the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season.

"It's a must-win-game situation Tuesday night," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We win that, it's a two-out-of-three series. Obviously they have home court, but we've shown that we can win there."

Nash said one reason for the Suns' struggles is the absence of guard Raja Bell, who has missed the last two games with a strained left calf. Bell is not expected to play in Game 4.

Bell scored only eight points in Phoenix's 121-118 Game 1 victory at Dallas. But he brings a fire that the Suns have lacked in the last two games. It was Bell who floored Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant in Game 5 of the opening round, drawing a flagrant foul and a one-game suspension. The Suns won that game and the next two to rally from a 3-1 deficit.

Bell said he agreed with Nash's assessment that the Suns had their shoulders slumped in the second half Sunday night, when they scored only 36 points.

"I did see it a little bit, and I don't know what to attribute that to," Bell said. "I think we have to find that (energy) from whoever's suited up."

Phoenix seemed to slump after an altercation late in the first half between the Mavericks' Jason Terry and the Suns' Tim Thomas. Thomas had drawn a flagrant foul from Josh Howard, who hit Thomas in the face as the Phoenix forward drove to the basket. As Thomas headed to the foul line, he walked through a group of Mavs, and he and Terry exchanged shoves. Both players were assessed technicals.

"It's just a situation where we're standing together and he walks right through us," said Terry, who had been suspended for one game for throwing a punch in the second round against San Antonio. "Hey, stuff happens in a game. It's the Western Conference finals and guys are going to do whatever it takes.

"That was just a situation where it was kind of edgy," Terry said. "The momentum was shifting either way. They benefited from it more than we did."

Actually, the altercation sparked the Mavs. They trailed by 10 points after Thomas made his free throws but pulled to 52-47 at the half. Including a 12-2 burst at the start of the third quarter, Dallas outscored the Suns 17-2 after the technicals were assessed.

In each of the series' first three games, the Mavs have trailed at halftime but rallied to lead in the fourth quarter. In Game 1 they let the Suns come back to win, but in the last two games the Mavs have outscored Phoenix by a combined 106-82 after intermission.

That gap indicates that the Mavericks are adjusting to the Suns' up-tempo style, and that the Suns have been unable to cope.

Phoenix had only 13 assists in Game 3 after averaging 23.5 the first two games. The Suns did not record a steal Sunday night, which was a big reason why they managed only four fast-break points (Dallas had 14).

When the Suns don't run, the Suns are done. The Mavericks sense that, which is why they've committed to hustling back on defense.

"We still had some malfunctions, and they just didn't make some of their shots," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "Sometimes stats are a little bit misleading. We think, compared to Game 1, which was pretty bad, our transition defense has improved, but it wasn't flawless."

Throughout their 54-win season and the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Suns have maintained that they don't worry about their opponents' strategy, and that they can dictate the pace whenever they want.

They still believe that, even though the Mavericks have proved them wrong in the last two games.

"We're not working the ball," Nash said. "We're kind of just falling asleep at the wheel. We're not playing our style."


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## Saint Baller (May 3, 2006)

If we win I dont see a chance that the Suns will be able to come back from 3-1 again.


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

I really, really don't like this guy.


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## Saint Baller (May 3, 2006)

Mavericks_Fan said:


> I really, really don't like this guy.


 He's a coward is what he is, "Yeah it'd be great if Dirk got hurt too," what a little ***** if your gonna go down, atleast be a man and take the full team head on.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

hes doing the right thing...you never concede defeat or the fact that the other team is better then you until you have actually lost 4 games...


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> hes doing the right thing...you never concede defeat or the fact that the other team is better then you until you have actually lost 4 games...


I don't disagree with that. But I still really, really don't like him.


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

Mavericks_Fan said:


> I really, really don't like this guy.


I don't like him either, he's an idiot and he nevers gives anyone any credit.


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## Ninjatune (May 1, 2006)

I hate that mustache.


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## Saint Baller (May 3, 2006)

TX_MAVFAN said:


> I hate that mustache.


 It's all the rage in Italy!


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## MavsChick (Jan 19, 2006)

Even if we went up 3-1 I wouldn't feel all that secure considering SA nearly came back from being down 3-1. I hope we don't go to 7 games again as we might be exhausted after going two straight 7-game series in a row and would be going up against a rested MIA team if they knock DET out pretty soon.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

> "We were down 1-3 in the first round," said Suns guard Raja Bell, who will miss his third consecutive game tonight with a calf injury. "This series is right where it's supposed to be, 2-1. We stole one at their place and they stole one here.


Uh, no. in the game you stole. The Mavs had a 9 point lead late in the fourth and stop being aggressive and the game was back and forth the entire time and you won by a last second shot( dont care about those free throws with .5 left)

The game the Mavs "supposedly" stole, was a game dominated by the Mavs in the 2nd half. The Mavs controlled the game and it was not in doubt after halftime. The suns never took a lead. Had a nice little run to open the 4th but found themselves down 6 with a snap and never got closer than 4th the rest of the period. The Mavs put the Suns away with just around 3 minutes to go in the game after Howard's steal and if we made our free throws, it would have been a double digit win. We didn't steal that game, we won it.


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

Mavericks_Fan said:


> I really, really don't like this guy.


That guy right there gives no respect to any team and never gives anyone any credit.
Kinda arrogant.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

TX_MAVFAN said:


> I hate that mustache.


There was a time (back in the '80s) when a mustache like that signified you were, well, not really a man.

(can I say ***** on this board? :angel: )


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

bray1967 said:


> (can I say ***** on this board? :angel: )


you just did... :biggrin:


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## Preacher (May 8, 2006)

Saint Baller said:


> He's a coward is what he is, "Yeah it'd be great if Dirk got hurt too," what a little ***** if your gonna go down, atleast be a man and take the full team head on.


He didn't say that.

He said, "It'd be great if Nowitzki got sick too."

A joke, if you ever watch a press conferance he has a sense of humor. He wasn't serious.

Oh and Avery seldom gives credit when Dallas gets beat. You guys are a bunch of haters. Just because you're playing the Suns it's ok not to hate them.


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

Not hating the Suns, just D`antoni.


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## Preacher (May 8, 2006)

VeN said:


> Not hating the Suns, just D`antoni.


Well, thats your choice.


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

yep, try another page if youre looking for evidence that i *****.


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