Warriors @ Suns - 7PM FSNAZ
Neither the Phoenix Suns nor the Golden State Warriors have played with much consistency lately. That only cost the Suns a chance at the top seed in the Western Conference, but it could keep the Warriors out of the playoffs altogether.
The teams meet Monday in Phoenix as Golden State tries to keep its postseason hopes alive.Phoenix (53-27) has clinched a postseason spot, but a 3-3 record in April prevented the Suns from having a chance at home-court advantage throughout the West playoffs. They also won't win the Pacific Division, as the Los Angeles Lakers clinched that Friday night.Phoenix fell 101-90 to Houston on Friday as it failed to win its third in a row."(We won) two of three on the road trip and that is not too bad, but we couldn't run the table and Houston did us in," coach Mike D'Antoni said.The Warriors (48-32), meanwhile, need a win Monday to stay alive. Golden State, 3-4 this month, can only reach the postseason if it wins its final two games and eighth-place Denver loses its finale at home to Memphis on Wednesday.The Warriors are coming off a 122-116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Stephen Jackson scored 28 points and Baron Davis added 25 for Golden State, which led 42-26 at the end of the first quarter and never trailed."Everybody on this team knows we have to win the rest of our games," Jackson said. "We can't worry about (the Nuggets) and hope that they lose, we have to go out there and play and if it happens, it happens. We can't worry about them, we gotta take care of our own business."Jackson was 8-of-17 from the field in his highest-scoring game since he had 29 points against the Lakers on March 24. He had averaged just 11.0 points on 28.9 percent shooting in his previous six games.The Warriors will be trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game winning streak from March 7-12. However, they've lost their last five trips to Phoenix since a 110-100 victory March 18, 2005.The Suns are looking to bounce back after struggling offensively Friday. They trailed by one at the end of the first quarter, but were down 59-47 at the break en route to their lowest point total since a 116-86 loss to Detroit on Feb. 24."We didn't have the fight and urgency to get back into the game," said forward Amare Stoudemire, who had 37 points and 11 rebounds. "I was surprised. I thought we had to have more intensity."Shaquille O'Neal had 16 points and 11 boards, but Steve Nash had just six points, six rebounds and nine assists. Nash is averaging 17.2 points and 11.1 assists on the season, but is scoring only 13.2 points and shooting 38.8 percent over the last six games. He was 0-for-3 from 3-point range Friday after not attempting a shot behind the arc the previous game.The Suns are looking for a split of the four-game season series with the Warriors. Phoenix won 123-115 at home March 13 after dropping the previous two meetings on the road.
Neither the Phoenix Suns nor the Golden State Warriors have played with much consistency lately. That only cost the Suns a chance at the top seed in the Western Conference, but it could keep the Warriors out of the playoffs altogether.
The teams meet Monday in Phoenix as Golden State tries to keep its postseason hopes alive.Phoenix (53-27) has clinched a postseason spot, but a 3-3 record in April prevented the Suns from having a chance at home-court advantage throughout the West playoffs. They also won't win the Pacific Division, as the Los Angeles Lakers clinched that Friday night.Phoenix fell 101-90 to Houston on Friday as it failed to win its third in a row."(We won) two of three on the road trip and that is not too bad, but we couldn't run the table and Houston did us in," coach Mike D'Antoni said.The Warriors (48-32), meanwhile, need a win Monday to stay alive. Golden State, 3-4 this month, can only reach the postseason if it wins its final two games and eighth-place Denver loses its finale at home to Memphis on Wednesday.The Warriors are coming off a 122-116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Stephen Jackson scored 28 points and Baron Davis added 25 for Golden State, which led 42-26 at the end of the first quarter and never trailed."Everybody on this team knows we have to win the rest of our games," Jackson said. "We can't worry about (the Nuggets) and hope that they lose, we have to go out there and play and if it happens, it happens. We can't worry about them, we gotta take care of our own business."Jackson was 8-of-17 from the field in his highest-scoring game since he had 29 points against the Lakers on March 24. He had averaged just 11.0 points on 28.9 percent shooting in his previous six games.The Warriors will be trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game winning streak from March 7-12. However, they've lost their last five trips to Phoenix since a 110-100 victory March 18, 2005.The Suns are looking to bounce back after struggling offensively Friday. They trailed by one at the end of the first quarter, but were down 59-47 at the break en route to their lowest point total since a 116-86 loss to Detroit on Feb. 24."We didn't have the fight and urgency to get back into the game," said forward Amare Stoudemire, who had 37 points and 11 rebounds. "I was surprised. I thought we had to have more intensity."Shaquille O'Neal had 16 points and 11 boards, but Steve Nash had just six points, six rebounds and nine assists. Nash is averaging 17.2 points and 11.1 assists on the season, but is scoring only 13.2 points and shooting 38.8 percent over the last six games. He was 0-for-3 from 3-point range Friday after not attempting a shot behind the arc the previous game.The Suns are looking for a split of the four-game season series with the Warriors. Phoenix won 123-115 at home March 13 after dropping the previous two meetings on the road.
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