A Three-Headed Monster Helps Phoenix Slay the Clippers

Amare Stoudemire scored 30 points and added 14 rebounds, Channing Frye knocked down seven three-pointers, and Jason Richardson scored 22 points as the Phoenix Suns throttled the Los Angeles Clippers 127-101.

Louis Amundson grabbed 11 boards in his limited playing time, and even though Steve Nash only scored two points, he did tally 13 assists to help his Suns to the victory.

While Richardson, Stoudemire, and Nash all grabbed some bench in the fourth quarter, the game wasn’t always a laugher. In fact, the Suns were losing by a point at halftime to the Clippers, but when the third quarter rolled around, Phoenix was ready. They outscored the Clips 39-18 and absolutely stole any momentum away that Los Angeles could afford to lose.

Solar Powered Lessons

-The Suns don’t need Steve Nash’s scoring

While it’s generally helpful to have Nash on the floor knocking down shots, his shooting percentage was so low (1-for-5) that it was probably a good thing that he declined to pull the trigger as often as he normally does.

Even with his 20% field goal rate, Nash was still a big contributor with his 13 helpers, and he had a steal and a rebound to boot.

Amare Stoudemire is a Beast Unchained

Yet again Amare is having the time of his life on the basketball court. Not only did he grab down 30 points and 14 rebounds in the Clippers game, but he also had three blocks and two steals to boot.

With that kind of production on both ends of the floor, it’s no small wonder that teams did want Amare to be in their line-ups for the stretch run.

Now, if only we could read Steve Kerr’s mind and see if he’s going to offer Amare the extension that he so desperately wants.

The Three-Ball Is the Make or Break Element of the Suns

When a team shoots over 50% from beyond the arc, they generally have a great chance of winning. When a team is capable of making 12 threes in a game, then you have a special group of guys on your hands.

Unfortunately, if the three-ball isn’t falling for Phoenix, then you see a lot of cutaway shots of Alvin Gentry with his hand under his chin and his gaze focused elsewhere. They need to make sure that their defense is as good as the one that shut down Denver on Monday night at US Airways Center, and if they can do that, then a couple playoff series victories aren’t out of the question.

Tags: Alvin Gentry, Amare Stoudemire, Channing Frye, Denver Nuggets, Jason Richardson, Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash