Nash has a flu, Shaq a day off, Suns lose in New Orleans

Chris Paul had 24 points and 15 assists, Peja Stojakovic added 24 points including 5 3-pointers, David West grabbed 14 rebounds along with 23 points and the Hornets beat the Suns 104-91 in New Orleans. Paul & Co. have now beaten the Suns for the sixth straight time. 

Nash had a flu, Shaq had his day off and the Suns never had a chance.

Phoenix tried to come back from an early deficit, leading by three midway through the third quarter, before New Orleans pulled away. The Hornets are simply much better than the Suns, there’s not really much to add.

“I thought we came out and played pretty good tonight, we just didn’t have enough at the end” said coach Porter after the game.

Stoudemire (AP Photo/Bill Haber) led the Suns with 26 points, Barbosa added 19 and Hill 17. The Suns turned the ball over only 13 times but were outrebounded badly 46-30. The difference in the end was the Hornets ability to attack the basket; New Orleans shot 35 free throws, 22 more than Phoenix.

The Suns lost their third consecutive game and are now, at 11-8, in real danger of finding themselves fighting with a .500 record sooner than later. The brutal schedule won’t help a bit. “Losing three in a row is never easy, never fun. We’ve got to fight back and got to keep our sanity.” declared STAT to the Republic afterwards.

Phoenix will continue the 2-day road trip with a visit to the Mavs tonight (6 PM on TNT). Let’s hope Steve Nash will be able to play, at least to visit his old time friend Dirk Nowitzki.

Yours truly, Steve Fan

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