Box Score

 

MINNESOTA (98)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
L Sprewell          21   2-8   1-2   2-7   1   1    5
K Garnett           34  7-13   1-2  5-15   3   5   15
M Olowokandi        19  4-10   1-2   2-6   1   2    9
T Hudson            18   3-4   0-0   0-0   2   1    8
T Hassell           42  4-10   7-9   2-5   3   4   15
S Cassell           30  5-13   2-4   1-5   3   4   12
W Szczerbiak        32  8-18   2-3   2-7   3   4   18
E Griffin           27   4-9   3-7  4-15   1   2   12
F Hoiberg           17   1-3   1-1   0-3   2   3    4
E Johnson          DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                               
J Thomas           DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                               
A Carter           DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                               
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             240 38-88 18-30 18-63  19  26   98
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.432, FT-.600. 3-Point Goals:
4-20, .200 (T Hudson 2-3, T Hassell 0-1, S 
Cassell 0-4, W Szczerbiak 0-5, E Griffin 1-4,
F Hoiberg 1-3). Team Rebounds: 8. Blocked 
Shots:3 (S Cassell, K Garnett, E Griffin). 
Turnovers:15 (K Garnett 6, M Olowokandi 3, W 
Szczerbiak 2, L Sprewell, T Hudson, T 
Hassell, E Griffin). Steals: 5 (K Garnett 2, 
S Cassell, W Szczerbiak, F Hoiberg).


PHOENIX (107)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
Q Richardson        35  6-13   1-2   1-7   3   3   18
S Marion            41  5-22   3-5  5-16   2   3   14
A Stoudemire        39  8-17  6-13   4-9   5   4   22
S Nash              36 10-15   4-4   0-2  11   2   28
J Johnson           36  6-15   0-0   2-4   1   4   15
J Jackson           26   1-7   0-0   0-6   0   2    3
L Barbosa           12   1-3   1-1   0-1   1   1    3
S Hunter            15   2-2   0-0   1-3   0   1    4
B Outlaw           DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                               
W Mccarty          DNP  - PERSONAL REASONS                               
J Voskuhl          DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                               
P Shirley          DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                               
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             240 39-94 15-25 13-48  23  20  107
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.415, FT-.600. 3-Point Goals:
14-30, .467 (Q Richardson 5-11, S Marion 1-3,
S Nash 4-5, J Johnson 3-7, J Jackson 1-4). 
Team Rebounds: 8. Blocked Shots:3 (S Marion 
2, A Stoudemire). Turnovers:7 (S Nash 3, J 
Jackson, S Marion, A Stoudemire, L Barbosa). 
Steals: 6 (S Marion 3, Q Richardson, J 
Johnson, A Stoudemire).

-------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA             23  26  20  29  -   98
PHOENIX               30  16  28  33  -  107
------------------------------------------- 

Technical fouls: Minnesota - 1 (Defensive 
Three, 7:44 1st). Phoenix - 1 (Defensive 
Three, 8:15 2nd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 18,422. T: 2:13. 
Officials: Dick Bavetta, Pat Fraher, Tony 
Brothers.

Extended Box

 

MINNESOTA (98) AT PHOENIX (107)

MINNESOTA

                                               REBOUNDS                        
PLAYER           POS  MIN  FGM-FGA  FTM-FTA  OFF-DEF-TOT  AST  PF  ST  TO  PTS
======           ===  ===  =======  =======  ===========  ===  ==  ==  ==  ===
 
L SPREWELL        F    21    2-8      1-2      2   5   7    1   1   0   1    5
K GARNETT         F    34    7-13     1-2      5  10  15    3   5   2   6   15
M OLOWOKANDI      C    19    4-10     1-2      2   4   6    1   2   0   3    9
T HUDSON          G    18    3-4      0-0      0   0   0    2   1   0   1    8
T HASSELL         G    42    4-10     7-9      2   3   5    3   4   0   1   15
S CASSELL              30    5-13     2-4      1   4   5    3   4   1   0   12
W SZCZERBIAK           32    8-18     2-3      2   5   7    3   4   1   2   18
E GRIFFIN              27    4-9      3-7      4  11  15    1   2   0   1   12
F HOIBERG              17    1-3      1-1      0   3   3    2   3   1   0    4
E JOHNSON             DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                                         
J THOMAS              DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                                         
A CARTER              DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                                         
  
TOTALS                240   38-88    18-30    18  45  63   19  26   5  15   98
                            (.432)  (.600)  TEAM REBS:  8 TOTAL TO: 16 (17 PTS)    

PHOENIX

                                               REBOUNDS                         
PLAYER           POS  MIN  FGM-FGA  FTM-FTA  OFF-DEF-TOT  AST  PF  ST  TO  PTS
======           ===  ===  =======  =======  ===========  ===  ==  ==  ==  ===
 
Q RICHARDSON      F    35    6-13     1-2      1   6   7    3   3   1   0   18
S MARION          F    41    5-22     3-5      5  11  16    2   3   3   1   14
A STOUDEMIRE      C    39    8-17     6-13     4   5   9    5   4   1   1   22
S NASH            G    36   10-15     4-4      0   2   2   11   2   0   3   28
J JOHNSON         G    36    6-15     0-0      2   2   4    1   4   1   0   15
J JACKSON              26    1-7      0-0      0   6   6    0   2   0   1    3
L BARBOSA              12    1-3      1-1      0   1   1    1   1   0   1    3
S HUNTER               15    2-2      0-0      1   2   3    0   1   0   0    4
B OUTLAW              DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                                         
W MCCARTY             DNP  - PERSONAL REASONS                                         
J VOSKUHL             DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                                         
P SHIRLEY             DNP  - COACH'S DECISION                                         
  
TOTALS                240   39-94    15-25    13  35  48   23  20   6   7  107
                            (.415)  (.600)  TEAM REBS:  8 TOTAL TO: 7 (10 PTS)     
  
   MINNESOTA          23   26   20   29   -   98
   PHOENIX            30   16   28   33   -   107
  
BLOCKED SHOTS: MINNESOTA - S CASSELL, K GARNETT, E GRIFFIN.  PHOENIX -
S MARION 2, A STOUDEMIRE.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: MINNESOTA 4-20 (.200), T HUDSON 2-3, T HASSELL 0-
1, S CASSELL 0-4, W SZCZERBIAK 0-5, E GRIFFIN 1-4, F HOIBERG 1-3. PHOENIX 14-
30 (.467), Q RICHARDSON 5-11, S MARION 1-3, S NASH 4-5, J JOHNSON 3-
7, J JACKSON 1-4.
TECHNICAL FOULS: MINNESOTA - DEFENSIVE THREE. PHOENIX - DEFENSIVE 
THREE.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DICK BAVETTA, PAT FRAHER, TONY BROTHERS.
A - 18,422. T - 2:13.

Game Story

PHOENIX (Ticker) -- All season, Steve Nash has been the trigger 
for the high-powered offense of the Phoenix Suns. On Friday, he
was the ammunition.

Nash scored 10 of his 28 points in the final nine minutes as the
Suns used a late surge for a 107-98 victory over the Minnesota
Timberwolves, whose playoff hopes took a hit.

The runaway league leader in assists at 11.5 per game, Nash has
turned fellow starters Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Joe
Johnson and Quentin Richardson into potent scorers. But the
point guard does average 16.1 points and can score when he has
to.

"Steve is a playmaker," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.  "There
is always a fine line when you have to be aggressive or a
playmaker.  He is probably the best at straddling that line and
always being a threat and trying to find somebody."

With the Timberwolves holding an 84-81 lead with eight minutes
to go, Nash became more aggressive on offense. He made a pair of
jumpers and a foul shot to help the Suns reclaim an 88-85 edge
with 6:29 left.

After Eddie Griffin's 3-pointer gave Minnesota a 92-91 lead,
Nash drilled a 3-pointer with 4:26 to play that gave Phoenix the
lead for good.

"Sometimes I get too pass-oriented," Nash said.  "We went on a
long stretch where we could not make a shot, but we cannot put
our heads down and lose confidence.  So I felt like I really
wanted to lead by example and keep being aggressive.  Hopefully
that pushed us over the hump."

A 3-pointer by Richardson extended the lead to 98-94. Griffin
made a free throw, but Johnson beat the shot clock with a
3-pointer for a 101-95 advantage with 1:51 to go. Phoenix was
14-of-30 from the arc.

Nash reverted to passer, finding Marion with his 11th assist for
an alley-oop dunk. Marion's ensuing free throw sealed it at
104-95 with 1:30 left.

"He shot the ball well and got assists," Minnesota coach Kevin
McHale said.  "He had the ball in his hands a lot and he played
very well."

Stoudemire scored 22 points, Richardson added 18, Johnson 15 and
Marion 14 with 16 rebounds for the Suns (55-17), who maintained
the best record in the NBA with their fourth straight win.

Wally Szczerbiak scored 18 points off the bench and Kevin
Garnett added 15 and 15 boards for the Timberwolves (38-35), who
had a five-game winning streak snapped.  They fell four games
in the loss column behind both Memphis and Denver, which hold
the last two playoff spots in the Western Conference.

"We thought this was a game we could win. It was just that down
the stretch they made the plays," said Wolves guard Trent
Hassell, who also scored 15 points.  "Yes, we are down and it
does hurt, but we have to get ready for (Sacramento) because we
can't lose another one on this road trip.  We can't afford to
lose another one."

The Suns opened a 41-29 lead midway through the second quarter
before the Wolves went on an 18-0 run.  Phoenix missed 10
straight shots during that stretch.

"In the second quarter we just missed a lot of easy shots," said
Stoudemire, who returned after missing the last two games with
an inflamed left ankle.  "In the fourth quarter, we were pretty
much on and defended well.  We just got into it mentally tonight
when we had to step it up."