Unstoppable…All we gotta say is that Mavs/Suns completely lived up to the hype and was worth the wait. The two best teams in the NBA (well, two of the best three at least; don’t forget about the Spurs) played the best game of the year (and no, we didn’t forget about Nets/Suns), a double-OT epic. If you missed it, Phoenix got the W, 129-127 … How about the big plays being made all over the place? Steve Nash (32 pts, 16 asts, 8 rebs) drawing a three-shot foul and sticking a trey in the final 15 seconds to force the first OT; Dirk Nowitzki (30 pts, 16 rebs, 6 asts) getting his shot blocked by Shawn Marion, catching the loose ball and sticking a clutch jumper all in one motion; Jason Terry (27 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts, 4 stls, 5 treys) pulling up for a trey in Nash’s grill to force the second OT; Amare Stoudemire’s flying fallaway dunk (really the best way to describe it) plus the foul; Josh Howard’s step-back J to complete Dallas’ second-half comeback and give them the lead; Nash saving a loose ball off Terry’s leg and then avoiding it hitting his own leg late in the second overtime; Erick Dampier grabbing 11 offensive boards; Marion’s super-athletic putback in OT to keep Phoenix up in a crucial spot; Jerry Stackhouse (33 pts, 5 treys) hitting numerous ballsy shots to keep Dallas in it whenever the Suns threatened to run away … It was just bananas. Phoenix led by 16 in the first half, with Nash all but locking up MVP for himself. Then the Mavs came back and dominated the third quarter, leading by 15 going into the fourth, with Dirk all but locking up the MVP for himself … Dirk picked up a silly technical late in the game and missed a huge free throw at the end of the fourth, but he did show he’s making strides on the leadership end. He took the big shots when he had to, although he missed a fadeaway pull-up at the end of the second overtime. He coulda drawn contact against Marion (15 pts, 12 rebs, 3 blks) after getting him in the air, but for some reason didn’t … When Nash stuck the game-tying trey in regulation, play-by-play guy Mike Tirico yelled/growled “STEVE NASH!” in a way that frankly was a little scary. And that was in between 58 minutes of Tirico, Bill Walton and Jon Barry laughing incredulously at everything Nash and Dirk did (mostly Nash) … And as good as Nash was, Amare was a beast. He started off the first quarter by ripping a rebound away from Dirk and sending Dirk flying while he finished with a dunk, then on the very next possession, muscling in a three-point play. Amare didn’t officially miss a shot until overtime and finished with 41 points … Coming off a ridiculous game like Dallas/Phoenix is the perfect way to go into one of our favorite days of the year: Day One of the Big Dance. We’ve been previewing the tourney all week, from our Players 2 Watch (Part I and Part II) to the Bracket X-Factors and the Best Matchups. And yesterday in the Dime office we had our Top Gun fantasy draft. Check out our squads right here …. The Thursday games we’re most looking forward to: Marquette/Michigan State, Boston College/Texas Tech, Duke/VCU and Indiana/Gonzaga … Back to the pros, another top-tier team in the West, the Jazz, dropped one on the road to the slumping Magic. Dwight Howard put up 31 points and 15 boards and all of his points might have come on dunks. Carlos Boozer scored 29, but he was getting killed defensively … T.J. Ford had a Nash-like game, dominating while only hitting five shots from the field. T.J. hung 18 points and 18 assists on the Knicks, out-dueling Stephon Marbury (31 pts, 9 asts) in a Raps win … Houston had the Clippers on the ropes in the first half, but let Elton Brand (37 pts, 10 rebs) go off and L.A. came all the way back to take the lead with a minute left in the fourth. Luther Head answered with a three to put the Rockets ahead, and Yao forced the game-sealing turnover … With his team in dire need, Jermaine O’Neal gutted it out on his bad knee and put up 24 points. The Pacers still lost their 11th straight, though, giving up 35 to Gilbert Arenas … Sean May hit the go-ahead trey (no, really, Sean May) with 16 seconds left in Charlotte’s W over the Kings. May had 20 points and 12 bounds, and his two threes were the first two of his career. Ray Felton, who dimed May on the big bucket, said afterwards, “He was right there and hitting jump shots all game. He had hit that 3 at the end of the shot clock earlier in the game, so I said why not? Go for it, big fella. Go for the kill.” … LeBron was back on the floor after missing Cleveland’s last game with back spasm. He dropped 29 points on the Grizzlies in a win … Pau Gasol had a baseline left-to-right dunk over Big Z that was a lot like something you’d see out of Vince Carter, only 37 times slower and barely getting off the ground … The Bucks canned head coach Terry Stotts yesterday. No surprise that Stotts got the axe, but the timing is what got us. Why now? Despite a recent stretch where they’d gone 1-4 (and that lone win was against the slumping Kobe-less Lakers), Milwaukee has been playing better since Michael Redd returned from injury. What’s the point of having an interim coach for the last 20-something games when you’re out of the playoff race anyway and could just have Stotts ride it out and start anew in the offseason? In other words, was it that urgent? … In the NIT, field-of-65 snubee Air Force smoked Austin Peay by 24; Kansas State squeaked past Vermont by a deuce; and the most talked-about snub, Syracuse, got past South Alabama behind 34 points from Eric Devendorf … We’re out like Stotts …
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March 15th, 2007 at 2:26 am
Armand says:
Steve Nash showed why is a two-time MVP and should be on the way to a third (if it wasn’t for the likes of Greg Anthony). He made all the plays needed to pull out one of the biggest victories this season. Plays like pulling a rebound over a taller defender during the last seconds to make sure the Mavericks didn’t have a second chance to tie in second OT, taking charges, and throwing the ball off Jason Terry to get possesion back for the suns with a minute left are plays that MVP’s make. This guy is incredible. Most people outside of AZ believe that the Suns don’t have a chance of winning the title. No defense and the style of play continues to be the focal point of why the Suns won’t be able to win. The Suns play sufficient defense if not good; Marion should be considered one of the greatest defenders today, he can guard anyone from point to power foward, everyone on the team takes charges, Bell is tenacious and Stoudamire is learning how to become a good shot-blocker. The amount of points is what most people see and define that on how the Suns play defense, but that is decieving. Hopefully, this game should people that the Suns aren’t for show and are serious about taking the title this year.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:16 am
Half Crazy Girl says:
i wish i’d seen it. they aired Cleveland game in France and that was not worth it. i went to bed instead…
i’m happy for Phoenix they’re my favorite team along with the Spurs… plus fantasy players must be really happy 
March 15th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Kudaben says:
Stotts wasn’t replaced by a interm coach, at least in the reports. Bucks new “Coach K” was given a reported ‘multi-year’ extension (to be head coach or on the coaching staff?).
What’s your criteria for an MVP?
Mine is a guy who shoulders the load for a relatively successful team, without an abundance of talent. Therefore Tim Duncan, Dirk, and Nash wouldn’t qualify as my picks…under normal conditions. This Year Nash gets my vote, because he simply is outdoing his previous MVP performances on an even better team. He is the engine.
If the East didn’t suck so bad and the all the injuries of the season weren’t a factor. My MVP would have been Dwayne Wade with Shaq missing 40 games, he held the Heat down and made the respectable, even though nigh in and night out they didn’t match up well against most teams. If he comes back and makes any noise in the playoffs He takes over the current tie between him, Kevin Garnet, and Allen Iverson as my favorite player with under-appreciated greatness (even though he has yet to be in his prime).
March 15th, 2007 at 11:25 am
travis says:
If you were the Bucks, and your out of the playoff race, why wouldn’t you fire your coach and go for the Oden/Durant sweepstakes? With the Sixers and the Hawks actually winning some games, the Bucks have a chance at competing with the Celtics for that #1 draft pick. And somone tell me who would bet against the Bucks or the Celtics in 2-3 years if the had a combo of Pierce/Redd and Durant as your 2/3 combo.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
D. Nicest says:
This was easily one of the best games i have ever seen. Nash, Dirk, Amare, Terry, Matrix, all showed up big. This game has to be put on espn classic ASAP
March 15th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Geoff says:
The game ABSOLUTELY exceeded all hype! It’s the one game I’ve recorded this season.
This year, I’ve always been a little surprised at how many of Dime’s posters predict Dallas over Phoenix in the West. With the successful return of Stoudemire, a healthy Thomas, the incredible development of Barbosa, Diaw, and Bell, and a bench that includes Rose and Piatkowski, this is the Suns’ year. Combine all the above with the de facto 3-peat MVP and the best defender in the game (Marion) and this is so NOT a repeat of last year’s semis. IF Dallas survives the quarters to face the Suns, they should keep their golf bags nearby.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
doug funnie says:
steve nash should not win MVP this year. He’s got two already, and i think he only deserved one of them (the year that amare was out). The year before that was a fluke. If he was able to get the mvp that year, then jason kidd should have won it one of the years he took his team to the finals. He he had similar stats but he had better rebounds and steals and he also had a worse team than nash had. Nash has better stats this year, but i think this is making up for that other mvp. Give it to someone else already. there’s other deserving players in the league.