Steve Nash marshals Phoenix Suns to a 96-88 win over Sacramento Kings - NBA Recap
Phoenix Suns have had an ordinary season so far; however March has been a highly successful for them.
Before Sunday, they had played two games in the month and finished on top on both the occasions. On Sunday night, in what was their third scrimmage of this month, the Suns kept their record intact and in a comeback performance,
squeaked past the Sacramento Kings 96-88, to extend the winning streak to three games.
Veteran Steve Nash starred for the Suns with 19 points on 8 for 13 from the floor and 7 assists. Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley both sealed 14 points each including 23 boards between them while reserve Shannon Brown tallied 13
points.
Marcus Thornton paced the Kings with a game high 21 points and 5 rebounds whereas Tyreke Evans put up an all round performance to finish with 17 points, 7 boards and 6 assists. DeMarcus Cousins bundled 16 points.
Thornton was hot right from the word go and got Kings off to a magnificent 28-19 start, however the Kings failed to boost the lead further and allowed the Suns to finish the first frame with a 10-4 spurt, thus making it 29-32
in the favor of Kings.
The Kings started the next frame with an 11-4 spurt to regain their command on the game, getting ahead by 43-33. The run allowed them to finish the first half of the game with a significant 5 points lead 52-47, despite a persistent
fight from the other end.
Suns slashed the five point deficit and got ahead by 1 point, 53-52, with the help of a 6-0 run in the opening minutes of the third frame. The next few minutes saw an intense battle as neither team managed to gain complete command
of the game. The momentum kept on shifting with each passing minute and a thrilling third quarter ended with Kings ahead by only 1 point 71-70.
Suns were a different team in the 4th and rattled a game deciding 15-3 burst, capped by a three by Brown, in the first few minutes to turn the game into their favour, at 85-74.
Kings responded swiftly with a 14-7 run to get within a striking distance 88-92, with almost a minute remaining in the game. However they froze after that, and on the other hand Dudley and Grant Hill struck in succession to guide
the Suns to an important win.
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