Game 74: Suns (22-51) @ Hornets (32-40)

[Sunsss]

BREAKING NEWS: We DID NOT give up 30 points in a quarter!

[MathiasPW]

come on, break them! We need 2 more posessions gone our way

[Sunsss]

We're shooting over 50% now. 5% better than them.

[Saberestar]

We are just there, 9 points down...let's go!

[Saberestar]

Walker is good.

[ATTL]

We look tired. Coming back from huge deficits is too much right now.

[Sunsss]

We killed them in the paint, they killed us from 3. But 3 > 2, so...

[Saberestar]

Too many difficult shots taken by Booker today.

[Bogyo]

Tank rolls on

[NTB]

Booker finished better than I expected. 23-4-5 is not bad at all. He had to deal with MKG all game.

[TeamTragic]

Nice loss for extra tank fuel. We had a balanced attack which is great for youth development.

[grumpysaddle]

I didn't even know this game was happening. Lol. Oh well. 23 after 70 is pretty good. I'm okay with that, especially with the amount of minutes he's had to play.

[SunZel]

i've never seen tj warren being close with anybody on the team or is just me?

[bhawk]

i've never seen tj warren being close with anybody on the team or is just me?

Agreed. I think there may be something to this observation. Maybe we discuss in TJ Warren thread?

[NTB]

Read on Twitter

"Michael Kidd is a really good defender and their bigs were really active on screens," Booker said. "I expect it to be hard from here on out."

"We're still fighting and we always cut the lead to within 10,'' Booker said, "but it's hard to get over the hump when you're down 20 and you have to fight all the way back through the fourth quarter."

"We've just got to stay with it and finish strong," Warren said. "Don't build bad habits and continue to build as a team and continue to build for the future."

On Friday, the Suns assistant coach watched as Booker scored his franchise-record 70 in Boston. On Jan. 22, 2006, Triano was an assistant with Toronto the night Kobe Bryant put up 81 against the Raptors in a 122-104 Lakers win.

“Both of those situations were completely different,’’ Triano said. “Kobe had 50 going into the fourth, but we were still in the game and our strategy was to make him score and take away other things. We just didn’t expect him to score 31 more in the fourth quarter.”

At the same time, Triano saw similarities in Booker and Bryant. Against the Celtics, Booker shot 21 of 40 from the field and 24 of 26 from the foul line for his 70. Against the Raptors, Bryant shot 28 of 46 and 18 of 20 from the line for his 81. Booker scored 51 points in the second half. Bryant scored 55.

“You could tell when both guys were in a zone,’’ Triano said. “It’s kind of fun when the whole arena recognizes it, home or away, and the nine players on the court recognize it. It was no secret we were giving the ball to (Booker) and it was no secret to the Celtics. It was the same thing with Kobe. We knew they were going to give it to him and everybody was like, ‘Let’s get out of the way and watch this happen.’’’

Triano’s only regret:

“I was on the losing team both times,’’ he said.

“I don’t blame the players for getting upset about it,’’ Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. “I never worry about what the other coaches do. If they want to call timeout, let them call timeout. If they don’t, they don’t. I just think that’s wasted energy, but I understand (Boston forward) Jae Crowder and those guys. I understand their frustration, too.”

Suns coach Earl Watson still thinks a lot of people miss an important detail.

“We had a legitimate chance to win,’’ he said. “I think that gets lost in the narrative from different reporters. If you pay attention, if you actually watch the last five minutes, you can just see it. That’s why there were all starters in the game. Usually, if it was a blowout, that’s not the case.”

“I kind of like it,’’ Watson said of the zone. “Our first unit does well in it because they’re taller and they’re longer. Our second unit, they struggle in it. Sometimes I think because our first unit just got out of college, they know how to play zone. And our second unit, mostly vets, they haven’t played zone in over 10 years. It’s like reflecting on the past: You’re not going to remember every detail so it works."

[OGBAH]

Book is averaging 46.5 ppg in his last 2 games
Which is nice

[King4Day]

I got to meet/get a pic with EJ and Albert after the game.

We're tied with LAL for the 2nd spot now. They have 2 games to make up though. They win one and we're officially tied.
Imagine they tie us or drop to the 3rd spot? Even the players have to be aware of how important it is for them to have the pick convert. Not saying they shouldn't try but if they don't get their pick, they will have not improved at all.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Some good Post All-Star break numbers:

Booker - 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Warren - 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block / 61% from 2
Chriss - 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block / 40% from 3, 57% from 2