Steve Nash shines as Phoenix Suns squeak past New York Knicks 91-88 - NBA Recap
Steve Nash is 37 now and not quite as athletic as he used to be earlier, however his skills and match winning abilities have not faded one bit.
Just hours ago, he led Phoenix Suns to a close win over the mighty New York Knicks, with the help of six free throws down the stretch.
After a gallant battle throughout, Knicks were only behind by 2 points, 85-83, with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, and a moment of brilliance could have turned the game in their favour.
Nash however intervened and drilled four from the free throw line to make it 89-85, which was neutralized by Carmelo Anthony’s crucial three as the scores reached 89-88 in the favour of Suns. Yet again, Nash came forward and made two free throws in the last six seconds to take his team to a win.
Nash finished with 26 points on 9 for 12 from the floor and 11 assists.
"Right now, we could have beat anybody and it'd be sweet," Nash said. "It's been a tough year, we've had a tough stretch, so for us, any win is a huge relief and hopefully will give us some confidence and maybe get us going a little bit."
Grant Hill and reserve Shannon Brown played the supporting role brilliantly and accumulated 14 apiece for the Suns, who shot 36-79 from inside the arc and 7-for-12 from the long range. On the other hand, the Knicks struggled with their shooting throughout and finished with a meagre 37.2% from the floor.
Amar’e Stoudemire led them with 23 points whereas Iman Shumpert registered 20 points. Landry Fields had 17 points. Carmelo Anthony was not at his best and displaying erratic shooting (5 for 22 from the floor), finishing with only 12 points along with 11 boards.
Knicks Coach Mike D’ Antoni was disappointed with the loss but seemed satisfied with the hard work his players put up tonight and in earlier games as well.
"I know we're 6-8, I know we're in a little bit of a crisis here," D'Antoni said. "But we're playing hard, playing good defence. There's some good things we're doing. We've just got to figure out the one part and that's the part that should be easiest. It's become a problem, and if we solve it, we'll be pretty good”
The Knicks have a number of star players in their ranks and were expected to be a major force in the current NBA season. So far however, they have not lived up to expectations whereas the Suns continue to punch above their weight thanks to the magnificent Steve Nash.
Tags: