# Game 28: Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks (12/28)



## Seuss

*Phoenix Suns (19-7) vs Dallas Mavericks (21-7)*

*When: Thursday, December 28th
Time: 6:00 Arizona
Tv: My45, TNT*

*Dr. Seuss' Key's of the Game *
1. Stop the German. 
Make Dirk shoot jumpshots. Trap him when he penetrates.
Force him to be a distributor.

2. Push the pace! 
Go! Go! Go! Don't let the Mavericks to setup their defense.
Put constant pressure on their defense.

3. Feed the beast! 
Let Amare tear Dampier apart. Eric is alot slowler and 
has a hard time guarding quicker post players. Let Amare
get him in early foul-trouble.


 *Suns Review *



> PHOENIX (AP) -- Leandro Barbosa is known as "The Brazilian Blur" because of his dazzling speed.
> 
> On Tuesday night, the Portland Trail Blazers got a taste of what Barbosa can accomplish when he gets running up and down the court.
> 
> Barbosa scored 20 points during a 6:21 span bridging the third and fourth quarters, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Trail Blazers 110-87 for their 16th win in 17 tries.
> 
> He didn't start well, missing five of his first six shots, then connected on eight straight and finished with 22 points.
> 
> "It was hard for me in the beginning, because we had ice under the court," Barbosa said. "Then I was just running up and down. I saw some space for me to get to the basket and I did."
> 
> Shawn Marion led the Suns with 23 points and eight rebounds, Raja Bell added 18 points, Jumaine Jones scored a season-high 13 and Amare Stoudemire had 12.



*Matchup of the Night*
















*Shawn Marion vs Josh Howard*


*Phoenix Suns Projected Lineup:*









*Head Coach:*








*Mike D'Antoni*

*Dallas Mavericks Projected Lineup: *









*Head Coach:*








*Avery Johnson*​

This should be a great game. I'm very excited to see what
the Suns can do against an elite team now that they have found
their chemistry.


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## Lukasbmw

I will be planted on the couch for this game with my cell phone off. 

Let's prove we are ready to win a ring.


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## Hyperion

Well, I already watched it in the future and the Suns win.

Suns 184
Mavs 25


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## Zei_Zao_LS

IceMan23and3 said:


> Well, I already watched it in the future and the Suns win.
> 
> Suns 184
> Mavs 25


Nifty. Did the Mavs start throwing it in the Suns bucket out of frustration somewhere towards the end of the 2nd quarter?


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## BootyKing

Lets show the naysayers we are real


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## ChristopherJ

I better get this game on TV else I'm heading to my cable provider and burning down their building.

BTW, Nice game thread AND especially nice avatar, Seuss.


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## Wombatkilla1

man i have been waiting for this game for far too long! im so dang pumped!


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## xray

Matchup of the top 2 teams in the NBA by a site I respect.

Should be a really good game. :clap:


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## Seuss

KidCanada said:


> I better get this game on TV else I'm heading to my cable provider and burning down their building.
> 
> BTW, Nice game thread AND especially nice avatar, Seuss.



You guys like it this way? Makes it easier on me to do
it this way.


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## Dissonance

xray said:


> Matchup of the top 2 teams in the NBA by a site I respect.
> 
> Should be a really good game. :clap:



In looking at that, I don't know how the Suns are 2, with an 1-6 record against top 10 teams.

It will look REALLY bad, if all they do is beat the other teams, and not top ones all season long.


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## ShuHanGuanYu

Come on dammit. Let's go. 2 in a row. Gonna be a tough game, but we can win this.

Good to see my punctuation doesn't go to hell after having had too much to drink.  I'm going to bed.


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## Effen

Im hoping that we can win this one, just to prove to everyone that Phoenix IS elite.

Im not a big fan of the Mavs at all, so im hoping that Phoenix takes care of business. I'm expecting a great game from Amare. I hope im right.

Since it's on TNT, do u ever notice how much **** that broadcasters talk about the suns? It's like they're always against us. Especially Bill Walton, I mute the channel when he's the broadcaster.


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## Dissonance

Effen said:


> Im hoping that we can win this one, just to prove to everyone that Phoenix IS elite.
> 
> Im not a big fan of the Mavs at all, so im hoping that Phoenix takes care of business. I'm expecting a great game from Amare. I hope im right.
> 
> Since it's on TNT, do u ever notice how much **** that broadcasters talk about the suns? It's like they're always against us. Especially Bill Walton, I mute the channel when he's the broadcaster.



Huh? Walton always has good things to say about the Suns. Maybe you should take it off mute :biggrin: 

No. really, I hardly hear him say anything against the Suns whenever he talks about them, unless we're playing badly, but that is to be expected.


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## Wombatkilla1

i think maybe holding some sort of siritual communion and asking the gods to blow dirk's knees out would help me calm down....

anyone interested?


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## Dissonance

Wombatkilla1 said:


> i think maybe holding some sort of siritual communion and asking the gods to blow dirk's knees out would help me calm down....
> 
> anyone interested?



No way. That comment is just wrong.


And it also doesn't look good if the Suns win and he is not on the court.


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## Lukasbmw

Dissonance19 said:


> In looking at that, I don't know how the Suns are 2, with an 1-6 record against top 10 teams.
> 
> It will look REALLY bad, if all they do is beat the other teams, and not top ones all season long.


I agree 100%

However, we were in all 5 games (Dallas, Utahx2, San Antonio, LA) and really should have won at least 3 (Utah, Lakers, San Antonio)

The Wizards game was also winnable.

Still, I think we need a victory tonight to prove we are for real. The Mavs still seem like the most dangerous team to me as they have so much firepower. Like us, they are 7-8guys deep.


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## Sedd

We NEED this win tonight. I can't wait.

:clap: Suns


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## xray

This game is definitely a more indicative game than the first meeting. Perhaps we'll feel confident after the game of where our teams stand, no? :bsmile:


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## Wombatkilla1

Dissonance19 said:


> No way. That comment is just wrong.
> 
> 
> And it also doesn't look good if the Suns win and he is not on the court.


oh come on man.........


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## Seuss

xray said:


> This game is definitely a more indicative game than the first meeting. Perhaps we'll feel confident after the game of where our teams stand, no? :bsmile:



I don't know. If the Suns win I'm going to make a big deal
out of it. But if they lose, then it isn't that big of a deal. =)

But it should be a good indication of what are teams are 
capable of. Even if Suns/Mavs lose.


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## truebluefan

should be a lot of scoring.


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## truebluefan

dampier blocked by Amare. 

Bell fouled by Harris


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## truebluefan

bell good. 1-0

Mavs 12-3 at home. Suns 8 straight road wins

bell good. 2-0


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## Husstla

Watching the game right now

Fade away hit by Terry


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## truebluefan

terry good.


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## truebluefan

nash scores

Dirk answers


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## truebluefan

amare hits


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## truebluefan

dirk fouled by amare. 

fta good. 6-5 Suns
second ft good.


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## truebluefan

diaw fouled by Dirk.


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## truebluefan

charge on diaw.


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## truebluefan

offensive foul Dampier.


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## truebluefan

bell hits for 3.


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## truebluefan

harris with a long two.


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## truebluefan

bell fouls howard.


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## truebluefan

nice move Howard! Amare fouls. 

10-9 Mavs. 

FTA good. 11-9


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## truebluefan

diaw dunks 11-11


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## truebluefan

nash hits a 3. 14-11 suns


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## truebluefan

marion fouls harris.


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## truebluefan

Thomas fouls howard.


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## truebluefan

howard...tech on suns coach

Dirk ft is good. 14-12

Howard fta no good
second fta good, 14-13 suns


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## truebluefan

5:57 14-13 suns. Amare has two fouls

suns 46% Dallas 40%


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## truebluefan

nash hits


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## truebluefan

k thomas fouls Diop. 

FTA good. 16-14 suns
fta #2 missed and George rebounds

George carries the ball


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## truebluefan

terry hits. 16-16


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## truebluefan

barbosa hits the laup


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## truebluefan

Nowitski for three


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## truebluefan

2:28 19-18 Dallas.


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## Amareca

Whats up with the refs..

8 fouls on the Suns, 3 on the Mavs, Thomas, Marion and Amare with 2 each already and we are the least fouling team in each of the last 3 seasons. -_-


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## truebluefan

terry hits both fts

diaw hits


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## cima

amare in foul trouble, what else is new?


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## truebluefan

diaw fouls terry

fta good. 
fta #2 good 23-20


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## Amareca

Great 2 fouls on Diaw as well now, stupid refs... all our forwards with 2 fouls in the first quarter? Right..


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## truebluefan

Dallas is slowing the game down enough to control the tempo


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## truebluefan

Terry is fouled. K Thomas has 3 fouls! 

fta good. 24-20
fta #2 good. 25-20


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## Amareca

truebluefan said:


> Dallas is slowing the game down enough to control the tempo


bull****, look at the numbers, rebounds, FG%... the only reason Dallas is up is fouls. Suns 10, Mavs 3 in the first quarter! 10 fouls, bs.


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## truebluefan

howard puts back his own miss. 

Terry drills a 3. 30-20


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## truebluefan

Amareca said:


> bull****, look at the numbers, rebounds, FG%... the only reason Dallas is up is fouls. Suns 10, Mavs 3 in the first quarter! 10 fouls, bs.


i disagree. Many times Dallas brings the ball up and sets up their offense.


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## truebluefan

end of 1 30-20. 

both teams 42% Suns have 5 t/o. 

FTA Dallas 12-14 Suns 2-2


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## truebluefan

bell scores


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## truebluefan

harris scores in close 32-22


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## truebluefan

foul on buckner

Foul on George. after diaw scores

Diaw fta good. 32-25


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## truebluefan

george for three.


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## truebluefan

buckner for three.


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## truebluefan

38-25 Mavs

diaw misses. Wow. dallas had a fastbreak and harris threw the ball away


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## truebluefan

harris fouls barbosa. 

Nice drive by Stoudemire! Dampier called for the foul. 38-27

fta good.


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## truebluefan

8:53 38-28 Mavs. Terry has 13 pts to lead all scorers.


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## truebluefan

diop fouls amare. 

fta good. 38-29
fta #2 good. 38-30


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## truebluefan

barbosa scores on the layup and is fouled. by buckner

fta good. 38-33


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## truebluefan

terry hits again


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## truebluefan

Dirk hits in close. 42-33


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## truebluefan

nash scores.


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## truebluefan

5:55 42-35.


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## truebluefan

diop fouls marion. 

FTA good. 
fta #2 good. 

Five pt game


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## truebluefan

nash drills a three.


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## truebluefan

howard rebounds and scores. 

Amare scores


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## truebluefan

Terry hits a 3. 47-42


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## truebluefan

diop moving screen.


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## truebluefan

amare scores in close.


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## truebluefan

Johnson fouls Nash.

FTA misses
FTA #2 good. 47-45


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## truebluefan

2:53 47-45 Mavs.


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## truebluefan

bell ties the game


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## truebluefan

dirk scores in close...mavs steal, dirk hits again


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## truebluefan

nash scores


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## truebluefan

Dirk is fouled. 

fta no good. 
fta #2 good. 52-49


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## truebluefan

halftime! 52-49 Mavs


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## truebluefan

Dampier fouls amare to start the second half

fta no good. 
fta #2 good. 52-50


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## truebluefan

dirk is fouled. 

fta good. 53-50
second fta good. 54-50


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## truebluefan

harris fouled Nash.


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## truebluefan

Marion hits a 3. 54-53


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## truebluefan

ouch amare hit in jewels.


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## truebluefan

terry hits over Bell.


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## truebluefan

nash scores again.


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## truebluefan

howard scores over Marion


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## truebluefan

bell scores. 58-57


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## truebluefan

terry with the layup..dirk steals and harris dunks


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## truebluefan

Terry hits the three. 

TO 65-57 Mavs


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## Husstla

Jet on fire. Hits another 3


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## truebluefan

14 t/o for the suns


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## truebluefan

harris scores on the FB and Bell fouls him! 

fta good. 68-57


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## truebluefan

marion blocked by Howard 

terry scores again. 70-57


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## truebluefan

nash hits a 3. 20 pts 8 assists


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## Husstla

What a pass by Nash, but stupid Matrix couldn't finish


Another 3 at the buzzer by Jet


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## truebluefan

Wow! Terry for three.


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## truebluefan

amare dunks!! Wowee


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## HB

Two pretty incredible sequences right there


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## truebluefan

amare dunks again!! Both dunks thanks to Nash.


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## truebluefan

HB said:


> Two pretty incredible sequences right there


Yes indeed!!


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## HB

Amare is looking good!


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## Husstla

Truebluefan, would it be possible for you to give updates like these for the Nuggets game in the Nuggets forum? I won't have the TV for that game


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## truebluefan

Husstla said:


> Truebluefan, would it be possible for you to give updates like these for the Nuggets game in the Nuggets forum? I won't have the TV for that game


yeah.


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## HB

Steve Nash is an incredible point guard


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## Husstla

truebluefan said:


> yeah.


Thank you, really appreciate it.


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## Husstla

HB said:


> Steve Nash is an incredible point guard


That pass to Matrix was amazing. I still can't believe he didn't finish. Play of the month easily if he finished.


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## truebluefan

stoudemire fouled by Diop, his 4th

FTa good. 73-65
FTA #2 good. 73-66


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## truebluefan

terry scores again. season high 32

Nash scores


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## truebluefan

Amare fouls diop.

Amare fouls again. His third. 

Charge on howard


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## Husstla

Terry on fire, what a game for him


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## Husstla

Damn what a pass by Nash to Barbosa for three


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## truebluefan

3 by barbosa. 75-71


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## HB

Lol and dallas fans are getting rowdy


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## truebluefan

dirk is fouled. 

Nice hustle by amare!


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## truebluefan

terry missed a hot.


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## truebluefan

1:12 diop gets his 5th foul


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## BootyKing

TERRY MISSES A THREE! OMG miracle


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## truebluefan

amare misses his first fta
second fta good 75-72


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## truebluefan

diaw gets his fifth. 

Buckner hits ft and hits second ft


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## truebluefan

reverse by barbosa, nice


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## truebluefan

George charging


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## Roland Garros

:clap2: good game against 2 greats teams


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## Husstla

It's amazing, how Dallas were up 15, and 5 mins later, they were up 3


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## truebluefan

jones is called for the foul. 

Dampier misses ft
second good.


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## truebluefan

Amare scores in close


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## truebluefan

end of three quarters. 78-76 Mavs. 

Terry 32
Nash 22
amare 21

suns 51%
Dallas 43%


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## truebluefan

Marion has just 5 pts and yet the suns down by just 2.


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## truebluefan

Mavs miss the first two shots

Barbosa scores


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## truebluefan

Suns steal and marion dunks


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## truebluefan

foul on J Jones. 

80-78 Suns

Dampier missed the alley oop!


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## truebluefan

Jones hits the three


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## truebluefan

Jones another 3! 86-78 Suns


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## truebluefan

Marion fouls Dirk. Bad call.


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## truebluefan

diop with the offensive rebound and marion fouls him. 9:37 play is stopped because Diop is shook up.


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## truebluefan

Diop was taken to the locker room. 

Howard scores 86-80


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## truebluefan

Marion drills a wide open 3.


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## truebluefan

Terry misses, Dirk rebounds and marion fouls him. His fifth. 

FTA good. 89-81
second fta good.


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## truebluefan

diaw misses

Harris misses Dirk dunks the put back!


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## truebluefan

barbosa blew by harris for two


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## truebluefan

Howard scores. Jones with goal tend.


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## truebluefan

6:59 91-86 Suns


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## truebluefan

Barbosa with the charge. Harris took the charge


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## truebluefan

Harris with the layup and was fouled! Diaw with the foul

FTA no good. out of bounds to the mavs. 

Diaw has fouled out


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## Husstla

What a drive by Harris


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## truebluefan

marion barely hit iron

Harris another layup and is fouled! 

91-90

FTA no good.


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## truebluefan

george blocks bell. 24 second violation


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## truebluefan

Dirk scores. 92-91 Mavs

Nash answers! 93-92


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## truebluefan

Dirk missed the layup

Amare fouled by Howard. 

FTA no good
fta #2 good. 94-92 Suns


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## Husstla

Tough on Harris couldn't keep that rebound in. Avery Johnson getting nervous.


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## truebluefan

2:47 94-92 suns

Suns ball.


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## truebluefan

offensive foul on Barbosa


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## Husstla

Jt 3!!!


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## truebluefan

dirk misses in close

Barbosa misses a layup

Terry for 3


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## Husstla

Wow the Suns have weak boxing out today, another offensive board


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## truebluefan

Marion loses the ball. Terry misses a 3, dirk rebounds and is fouled. 

FTA good 96-94 Mavs
FTA #2 good 97-94


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## truebluefan

Amare is fouled

FTA misses. 
FTA #2 good. 97-95


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## truebluefan

harris hesitated and traveled.


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## Husstla

Nash is just nasty


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## truebluefan

lob to amare with the dunk!! tied game


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## truebluefan

harris misses, out of bounds to Suns


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## truebluefan

bell throws the ball away! :31.5 left


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## Amareca

God Damn Choke Artists. Give it to Amare or Nash..


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## truebluefan

howard with the layup and is fouled. Bell with the foul

fta missed, 99-97 Mavs.


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## Amareca

Good Job Raja Bell blowing the game with some help from Marion.


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## truebluefan

Here we go!

Marion misses a layup! Dallas rebounds TO 6.3 seconds left.


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## Husstla

It's going to ot for sure


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## Husstla

DIRK!!!! What a hsot!!!!


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## truebluefan

Dirk scores!! 101-99 

I messed up on the last play with marion. Sorry.I was distracted.


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## t1no

Good game, one of the best game i have seen this season.


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## truebluefan

Amare with the 3.. no good. Dallas wins 101-99


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## Husstla

Dallas win, what a game. Time to turnover the TV.


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## Amareca

Raja Bell, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw shame on you, way to not show up and choke away the game.


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## Saint Baller

Great game guys.


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## ChristopherJ

Nash spoon fed Barbosa and Marion in the final two minutes and they both couldn't finish. Add a timely TO by Bell and once again you have another final minute loss for the Suns.

GREAT game by Nash. Too bad this team failed to execute late, AGAIN.


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## Sedd

Amareca said:


> Raja Bell, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw shame on you, way to not show up and choke away the game.


Worst game of the season BY FAR for those guys. Man I'm pissed!!


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## Hyperion

New rule:
Marion doesn't get popcorn during the game... well no butter on it at least.

Raja Bell should never do a pick and roll with Nash. 

Amare needs to step up and defend Nowitzki.

I don't think that this was a very good game by the Suns until after the first quarter. D'Antoni needed to keep his starters in the game longer (well Amare and Nash)


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## knicksfan89

what about tonight and the knicks this is going to be some game and i only hope you choke once again down the stretch


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## Zei_Zao_LS

Good lord...

I'm pretty sure Shawn Marion is the least coordinated superstar in NBA history. He has to be. He's the only one I can think of that would fling a wide open dunk into the crowd during crunch time.


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## Seuss

Zei_Zao_LS said:


> Good lord...
> 
> I'm pretty sure Shawn Marion is the least coordinated superstar in NBA history. He has to be. He's the only one I can think of that would fling a wide open dunk into the crowd during crunch time.



:lol: 

I don't understand how the ball finds away out of his hands.
I'm being a jerk and pointing out the negative, but this 
definitely wasn't The Matrix's best outing.

I'm not mad about this loss. The Suns had this, but they've 
got to get better at attacking the basket. Dallas should be
very scared to meet the Suns. Amare's back! =)


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## Lukasbmw

My thoughts:

1. Dallas played great Defense. Every single Sun had to work for their points and it seems only Amare and Stevo were able to adjust.

2. The Suns did not play a really good game. Then again neither did Dallas. The Mavs shot only 41%. The Suns shot 51%. The Mavs did get 13 more attempts but made 2 less shots total. 


My point is, we cannot chalk this loss up to a poor performance by the Suns. The Dallas defense really threw off a lot of our players. The Mavs also had a terrible shooting night yet they still beat us.

We need to get better if we want to take them in a series.

I thought the game was called a little tight but overall it was pretty fair. Both teams had phantom calls on inside plays.


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## Lukasbmw

Also,

TrueBlueFan,

I don't mean to be an ***, but 12 pages of play by play is absurd. I don't want to shift through 12 pages of one line comments from the game by a single person when I want to reply to a thread or see other posters thoughts on the game. Isn't play by play what the general forum is for?


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## xray

Dr.Seuss said:


> I'm not mad about this loss. The Suns had this, but they've
> got to get better at attacking the basket. Dallas should be
> very scared to meet the Suns. Amare's back! =)


This game means next to nothing; any time you have a buzzer beater/last shot opportunity, it could go either way. Whether the Mavs or Suns won this one, the 'winning' coach has reason to rip his team anyway.

imo


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## Seuss

Some nice pics from last nights action.


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## edwardcyh

Lukasbmw said:


> Also,
> 
> TrueBlueFan,
> 
> I don't mean to be an ***, but 12 pages of play by play is absurd.


How do you think TBF got to 43,744 posts? :biggrin:


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## edwardcyh

Dr.Seuss said:


> Some nice pics from last nights action.


VERY NICE pictures! They kinda show you who won the match-up between Amare and Damp.

I was extremely happy to see Amare get in action, but I was even happier about the limited amount of damage he was able to do. If my memory serves me right, Amare pretty much dismantled the mavs during playoffs two seasons ago... Didn't he average 30+ points and 10+ boards in the series?

I guess Avery Johnson is making a big enough difference in Dallas.

:cheers:


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