Impressive Performances, 113-100 Suns (Series 3-1, Suns)

Tonight's game was just... absolutely... and... well... wow. Speechlessness is really the only appropriate way to describe exactly how ridiculous Nash and Amare played tonight. Two players with absolutely insane nights, on the same night.

For those of you who didn't catch the game, I suggest contemplating suicide if you don't have the means to watch the game. Nash was absolutely brilliant and Amare was a complete beast.

Just one of 23 assists.

Let's start with Nash. 17 points (6/15 FG), 23 assists, 2 steals and a block, with just 3 turnovers to show for it all. Everything that Nash needed to do better last game, he did this game. He didn't hold on to the pass too long, he beat the hard trap on the pick and roll, he beat the hard doubles they threw at him, and most importantly, he continuously found people open for wide open shots and, more importantly, dunks and lay-ups. I'm fairly certain that a least 14 of Shawn's 22 points were off of easy lay-ups and dunks which Nash set him up perfectly for. Every time we needed a play, Nash made it. Every time someone seemed to be out of rhythm, he found them an easy shot and got them involved. Every time they packed the paint and wouldn't allow an entry pass, he hit the shot he needed to hit. Overall just a spectacular performance by an outstanding player.

No, it's all you Steve. All you.

Hand in his face... think it mattered? Me neither.

Meanwhile, Amare was rocking the Staples Center like everyone knows he is capable of. He came out with an agenda or two. The first, don't get outperformed by Kwame Brown. No easy task, right? ... Right? Nobody? Okay. His second task, hit the boards. Through the game he was ripping every rebound that bounced in his general vicinity. Any time he can do that, we are basically guaranteed a win. Any time we outrebound the opponent, we are setting ourselves up for a smooth ride. Tonight, Amare hit the boards like it was going out of style, and that's exactly what I like to see out of him. Everyone knows he can score. Everyone knows he can finish. Most people know he can shoot. (Still a few people who think he can't, that's fine. Let him shoot then, Kwame.) What really defines him having a great game is how many rebounds he pulls down. Whenever he's hitting the glass like that, the rest of the game will come to him and that was definitely the case tonight. 27 points (10/20 FG, 7/10 FT), 21 rebounds, 2 steals and a block (A monstrous block on Kwame) in what was, in my opinion, his best playoff game. Yes, better than in the Spurs series. In the Spurs series he never dominated the glass like he did tonight, and he scored very efficiently as well. Here's looking out, Amare. If you do it again on Wednesday we can look forward to another win.

He seems to be angry at the rim...

And speaking of hitting the glass, Shawn was active tonight. That's really all that needs to be said, as anyone who knows the Matrix knows that when he's active, he's having a great game. He was deflecting passes, running down loose balls, grabbing rebounds, and flat out smashing the Lakers on back cuts and finishes on lobs. Shawn's shot may not be falling very consistently, but when you get the majority of your points on lay-ups and dunks, that's not really a problem. Quite a few times tonight I was just thinking "Wow, tonight he's the Matrix.", which is good, because when he's just Marion, he's nearly invisible. (Hear that, Shawn? If you just keep on being the Matrix you won't have any problems with people noticing you're there!) Shawn put up a routine Matrix night, filling up the stat sheet with 22 points (10/15 FG), 11 boards (5 offensive) and two steals.

The Matrix doesn't need to be watching to get a steal. He just knows.

Speaking of people filling up a stat sheet, Kobe once again had a great game again tonight. 31 points (12/25 FG, 6/6 FT), 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and a block filling out his stat sheet, but he had to work hard for every last bit of it. No easy shots, no easy buckets, no free trips into the lane. The fact that he had 6 turnovers is a good indication of how hard he had to work for everything, especially since he's not prone to high turnover games as he takes very good care of the ball. In the end, it just seemed like Raja upset his rhythm enough that he really didn't get into the flow like he wanted to, and when Bell wasn't on him, Marion was. And when Marion wasn't on him, Diaw was. (Diaw played him rather well, when he switched off or doubled on to him.) Overall, you really can't ever hope to stop Kobe as much as throw his game off, and tonight I think the Suns did a good job of throwing him off his game. All around he did everything you could possibly hope for though, got his teammates involved, scored in bunches... just... his supporting cast didn't step up to the plate like they did early in the game.

It's just like last year. Except without any clotheslines.

Kobe seems a bit tense... maybe it's about his supporting cast.

Boxers or briefs? Kobe says he wears briefs, but Nash isn't sure he believes him.

Boris Diaw passes up a good lay-up for a bad pass. How Christ-like.

Speaking of Boris Diaw... he played like absolute crap for the first three quarters, airballing jumpers, making bad passes, and playing like an antsy schoolgirl. Then when the game was basically decided, he made some good plays to keep us ahead, and went strong to the hoop. If Boris played the entire series the way he played the fourth quarter tonight, I wouldn't be lamenting his apparent case of contractextensionitus. Oh well. Let's all hope he stops playing like he's scared and starts playing as his talent dictates he can.

The NBA, it's flooooop-tastic!