Suns-Cavaliers Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Mar 24 2012 1:52PM

Steve Nash matched a season high in assists during the Phoenix Suns' last game, leading his team to a much-needed win.

The scuffling Cleveland Cavaliers may want to take a lesson from the Suns' eight-time All-Star.

Phoenix looks to carry that momentum into the finale of a four-game road trip Sunday against Cleveland, loser of five of six.

After opening this trek with back-to-back losses at Miami and Orlando, the Suns (24-24) bounced back with Friday's 113-111 win at Indiana. Marcin Gortat and Grant Hill combined for 45 points while Nash scored 12 and had 17 assists.

"It would have been real tough to go 0-for-4 on this trip or go into the Cleveland game 0-and-3 and put all that pressure on ourselves," said Nash, who leads the league with 11.2 assists per game. "We got some good feelings back. Got some confidence back. So we've got a big game in Cleveland we've got to win."

Phoenix is tied for the second-best record in the league since the All-Star break, going 10-4 to become a factor in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Cavaliers (17-28), in contrast, appear to be headed in the opposite direction. Cleveland was handed its 11th loss in 15 games Friday, falling 93-80 at Orlando.

The Cavaliers trailed by 15 at the break, and despite cutting the deficit to seven late in the third quarter, couldn't get any closer.

"It was one of those games guys, where I thought; it's not Wall Street. It's not the stock market. You can't have the lulls we had. When we started off, we didn't play hard," coach Byron Scott said. "Then we started playing real hard. Then we went down again. We just can't do that. We're not good enough to afford ourselves that luxury of trying to play that way, especially against a good team."

Though shooting just 37.8 percent certainly didn't help, some of Cleveland's struggles Friday can be attributed to posting a season-low 10 assists. The Cavaliers are 4-20 when recording 20 assists or fewer and 13-8 when compiling at least 21.

"I just feel like we have to make regular basketball plays. When we are making plays for each other, it opens up opportunities for others on our team," said rookie point guard Kyrie Irving, who had 13 points and six assists. "There were times we became stagnate (Friday), but it happens. We just have to go back to the lab and work on getting better offensively and defensively. It is just about peaks and valleys right now. We have to have a consistent effort."

Irving had one of his better games when the teams met Jan. 12, scoring 26 points to go along with six assists as Cleveland overcame 16 points and 15 assists from Nash in a 101-90 road win. Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao, currently out with a broken wrist, had 17 rebounds in that game while Antawn Jamison scored 23 points.

Daniel Gibson, who had 10 points in the first meeting, is uncertain to be available after missing Cleveland's last two contests with a sprained ankle.

The Cavaliers have been limited to 40.8 percent shooting in dropping six of seven at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Suns have lost five of seven in the series, with both wins coming in a two-game sweep last season.

Gortat, Morris each score 22 as Suns top Cavs

Posted Mar 25 2012 7:20PM

CLEVELAND (AP) The Phoenix Suns made a statement early on against Cleveland.

The Suns, one of the NBA's hottest teams, scored the game's first 12 points and never trailed in rolling to a 108-83 victory over the Cavaliers on Sunday.

Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris scored 22 points apiece, while Steve Nash added 13 assists. Phoenix has won six of eight to get back into the Western Conference playoff race. The Suns improved to 11-4 since the All-Star break and are one game behind Denver for the final playoff spot in the West.

"This was, by far, the best ball movement we've had this year," said Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry. "We got off to a great start, but I thought we played well for the whole 48 minutes."

Gortat scored the game's first 10 points, including two dunks and three layups.

"It was cool," he said. "It's always fun when you're rolling like that. I could have had an easy 30 if I had executed better. My teammates found me, and I was happy I had some post-ups today."

Cleveland has lost six of seven, leading coach Byron Scott to a simple conclusion.

"We're not a very good team right now," he said. "That's the bottom line. It's like we were almost sleepwalking."

Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 16 points for Cleveland, which was never in the game after cutting the lead to 33-31 in the second quarter. Phoenix scored the next nine points to regain control and led 59-38 at halftime. The Cavaliers never got closer than 15 in the second half and the Suns' biggest lead was 106-78 in the closing minutes.

"We were setting good screens and, of course, having such a great point guard like Steve Nash makes us look better," Gortat said.

Gortat, who was 10 of 16 from the field, had his way with Cavaliers rookie center Tristan Thompson.

"He ate us alive," Scott said. "I don't know if Tristan didn't know that much about him or if he didn't realize that the guy is a pretty good player. Gortat has been playing well all season long."

Nash, who didn't play in the fourth quarter, finished with four points and made his only two shots from the field in 29 minutes. He didn't attempt a shot until hitting a layup with 31 seconds left in the second quarter.

Nash had eight assists in the first half, matching Cleveland's team total for the first two quarters. The 16-year veteran recorded his 31st double-figure assist game of the season and leads the league in that category. Nash matched his season high with 17 assists Friday against Milwaukee.

"He's so effective on the offensive end," Irving said. "At times he's a scorer and then he'll find the open man. He's one of the best for a reason and he's done it year after year."

Morris, who had a career high in points, shot 9 of 12. Brown added 16 points for the Suns, who shot 51.2 percent for the game.

Irving has averaged 21 points in two games against the Suns this season.

"He doesn't play like a rookie," Gentry said. "I heard he turned 20 years old (Friday). That's frightening because I have suits older than he is."

Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison, who sustained a bruised left leg and ankle in the first quarter, finished with a season-low two points. He was injured while battling Gortat for a rebound. The players fell to the floor, with Gortat landing on Jamison's leg. Jamison was on the floor for several minutes clutching his leg, but walked to the locker room on his own.

Jamison, Cleveland's second-leading scorer with an 18.4 average, returned in the second quarter. Jamison had his lowest point total since being held scoreless on Jan. 13, 2006 against Indiana while playing for Washington.

Omri Casspi scored 14 points for Cleveland.

The Cavaliers climbed back into the Eastern playoff race earlier this month with a three-game winning streak, including back-to-back road victories against Denver and Oklahoma City. Cleveland has struggled since then, with four of its six losses coming by double figures.

"We can't play the rest of the season with peaks and valleys," Irving said. "We beat really good teams by playing hard for 48 minutes. We haven't been doing that in the last few games."

NOTES: Nash has had 17 assists four times this season. ... Phoenix finished 2-2 on its four-game road trip and is 10-14 away from home. ... The Suns host San Antonio on Tuesday. ... Cavaliers G Daniel Gibson missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle. ... F Luke Walton scored his first points with Cleveland since being acquired from the Lakers on March 15 with a basket in the second quarter. He finished with seven points.

Notebook: Suns 108, Cavaliers 83

Posted Sunday March 25, 2012 8:39PM

By Brian Dulik, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Center Marcin Gortat and power forward Markieff Morris shared game-high honors with 22 points apiece as the Phoenix Suns led from wire to wire in a 108-83 rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shooting guard Shannon Brown added 16 points and point guard Steve Nash dished out 13 assists for the visiting Suns, who are 11-4 since the NBA All-Star break. Rookie point guard Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 16 points and four assists, while small forward Omri Casspi had 14 points. Cleveland, which trailed by 29 points late in the fourth quarter, never got closer than 15 in the second half.

QUOTABLE: "We got off to a great start, but I thought we played well for the whole 48 minutes. This was, by far, the best ball movement we've had this year. We were able to get easy shots because of our (ball) rotation all day."
-- Suns coach Alvin Gentry

THE STAT: Gortat and Morris combined for 31 first-half points on 14-for-21 shooting -- feasting on screen-and-rolls against Irving and Cavaliers centers Tristan Thompson and Samardo Samuels. "Their bigs were jumping out really high and really hard, so when they didn't get help on the backside, we were open when we rolled," said Gortat, who finished the afternoon 10-for-16. "My teammates found me, and I was happy I had some post-ups today. I could have had an easy 30 (points) if I had executed better." Morris wound up 9-for-12 from the floor in the highest-scoring game of his rookie season.

TURNING POINT: The Suns took a 12-0 lead just 156 seconds into the game, prompting the "Kids Day" crowd at Quicken Loans Arena to angrily boo the Cavaliers. Gortat scored the first 10 points on a pair of dunks, one short jumper and two layups, while small forward Grant Hill added two free throws to complete the run. "We wanted to start off the game really strong, but our communication wasn't there," Irving said. "What we talked about in practice and all the things we went over weren't applied in the game. There's a lack of energy, and we're not together out there."

QUOTABLE II: "(Gortat) ate us alive. I don't know if Tristan (Thompson) didn't know that much about him or if he didn't realize that the guy is a pretty good player. He's been playing well all season long, and tonight he just had his way."
-- Cavaliers coach Byron Scott

HOT: The Suns are 13-5 since Feb. 19, and equaled their season high-water mark by moving one game above .500. Phoenix also pulled within one game of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. "We're a good shooting team and we've been shooting the ball better lately," Gentry said. "Guys also have gotten really comfortable in their roles." ... Suns point guard Sebastian Telfair had seven points and six assists in 19 minutes. "Any time you get traded by a team, you want to show them why they made the wrong move," said Telfair, who was dealt to Minnesota by the Cavaliers on July 26, 2010. ... Cleveland shooting guard Manny Harris grabbed a career-best nine rebounds, while point guard Donald Sloan matched his NBA highs with four rebounds and four assists.

NOT: Cavaliers power forward Antawn Jamison scored two points in 19 minutes, marking his worst offensive output since being blanked on Jan. 13, 2006 at Indiana. He also suffered a bruised left ankle and leg contusion when Gortat landed on him while they were battling for a rebound. ... Irving accounted for five of Cleveland's 22 turnovers, which Phoenix turned into 25 points. ... Thompson grabbed two defensive boards in 26 minutes. ... The Cavaliers are 1-6 since March 13, and 4-12 over their last 16 games. ... Cleveland did not record a blocked shot. ... Suns center Robin Lopez missed five of his six field goal attempts in 18 minutes off the bench. ... Phoenix forwards Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick were in uniform and healthy, but did not play.

QUOTABLE III: "We owed it to ourselves to have a better performance after (the Cavaliers) got us at home earlier this season. We've clawed back into the playoff picture, so we had to try and get one here."
-- Nash

GOOD MOVE: Since the Suns had no problem shredding Cleveland's interior defense, Nash didn't attempt his first shot until 31 seconds were left in the first half. At the time, the perennial NBA All-Star had eight assists -- matching the Cavaliers' team total through 23 1/2 minutes -- without committing a turnover. "Some nights if teams are making me a scorer, I have to be aggressive and score," said Nash, who made both of his field goal attempts and scored four points in 29 minutes. "Other nights when they're trying to get the ball out of my hands, we have to make them pay other ways. I just tried to do the best I could."

BAD MOVE: The Cavaliers again came out of the gate with no intensity or sense of urgency, paving the way for their third straight home loss. Cleveland is 9-15 at Quicken Loans Arena this season, and 21-44 in the building since Scott took over as coach. "It was just like we were almost sleepwalking for a little bit today," said Scott, whose overall record with the Cavaliers is 36-92. "We are just not a very good team right now, that's the bottom line." ... Irving was tentative and ineffective against Phoenix's screen-and-rolls, continuing his season-long struggles on defense. "Part of it was laziness," he admitted.

NOTABLE: Morris' previous season high was 21 points at Denver on Feb. 14. The Kansas product was the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. "Markieff gets yelled at a lot (by me) in practice, but he's a great kid and really wants to be good," a smiling Gentry said. "I think he's got a chance to be a real solid player in this league." ... Cavaliers power forward Luke Walton scored his first points since being acquired from the Lakers just hours before the NBA trade deadline. The son of Hall of Fame center Bill Walton had seven points and four turnovers in 26 minutes while spelling Jamison. ... Suns radio broadcaster Tim Kempton was Cleveland's starting center in the final NBA game played at The Coliseum in suburban Richfield. The Cavaliers moved downtown in 1994 when Gund Arena (now Quicken Loans Arena) was built.

UP NEXT: For the Suns, Tuesday vs. San Antonio, Wednesday @ L.A. Clippers, Sunday vs. New Orleans. For the Cavaliers, Tuesday @ Philadelphia, Wednesday vs. Detroit, Friday vs. Milwaukee.

• Suns: --
• Cavaliers: Harangody, Varejao

• Suns: --
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #59 Gary Zielinski, #70 Brent Barnaky
• Attendance: 17307
• Duration: 2:12