Suns-Hornets Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Jan 31 2012 2:30PM

Although the New Orleans Hornets are coming off the worst January in the franchise's 24-year history, facing a Phoenix Suns team that might be without Steve Nash could help them open February on a positive note.

The Hornets try to put a dismal month behind them Wednesday night when they host the Suns.

New Orleans (4-17) won two of its three December games - including a split of two contests against Phoenix - but was unable to carry any momentum into the new year. The Hornets went 2-16 to set a record for January futility for the franchise, which was established in 1988.

New Orleans, last in the Western Conference and still without Eric Gordon, completed the month with Monday's 109-95 loss at Miami. The Hornets actually led the high-powered Heat, who were coming off an emotional win over Chicago the day before, by 12 points midway through the second quarter before allowing Miami to go on a 56-23 run.

Jarrett Jack, who averages a team-best 16.1 points, scored 14 for New Orleans, which finished with 25 rebounds - the lowest total in the NBA this season.

Hornets coach Monty Williams felt the game could have played out differently if his team got calls similar to Miami's superstars.

"It's hard to play the kind of basketball that you need to play when you're not getting what you feel is a fair call at times," Williams said. "I thought our guys got beat up a little bit going to the basket."

The reigning East champs were too much for New Orleans, but the team could have better luck against Phoenix (7-13), especially if Nash can't go.

Since the start of last season, the Suns are 1-8 when the two-time league MVP doesn't play.

Nash, the NBA's assists leader with 9.9 per game, bruised his left thigh when he took a knee from Marc Gasol in the final seconds of Saturday's 86-84 victory over Memphis. The 37-year-old star point guard sat out Monday against Dallas, and the Suns couldn't keep up in a 122-99 defeat.

Marcin Gortat had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix, which allowed opponent season highs in points and field-goal percentage (55.2) in losing for the fourth time in five games.

"The floodgates really opened and it was tough for us," said Jared Dudley, who is averaging 17.5 points in his last two games - 7.1 better than his season average. "All that you can do is just come in, look at film, look yourself in the mirror, work harder."

Nash is known for his exceptional work ethic, but his status against New Orleans is uncertain.

If he plays, he'll have a good chance to pass Kevin Johnson as the Suns' all-time assists leader, needing only seven more. He has posted at least that many in all 18 of his games against the Hornets since the 2006-07 season.

Nash recorded 12 assists in each of the first two meetings of 2011-12, a season-opening 85-84 home loss Dec. 26 and a 93-78 victory in New Orleans four days later.

Nash leads Suns past Hornets, 120-103

By BRETT MARTEL
Posted Feb 02 2012 12:14AM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Steve Nash made Phoenix Suns history for his ability to put his teammates in position to score.

Yet it was Nash's ability to hit his own shots that sank the hapless New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.

"I guess it's very ironic," said Nash, who scored a season high 30 points to go with 10 assists in the Suns 120-103 victory over New Orleans.

By increasing his total number of assists with the Suns to 6,522 in nine-plus seasons with the club, Nash surpassed Kevin Johnson's mark of 6,518.

"To be honest, it pales in comparison to getting the win," Nash said. "The things that really matter about (the record) is: One, to be up there with Kevin, who was a great, great player and deserves a lot of credit for what type of player he was. And then the other one, just I love the city and organization and to do it for the Suns is a real honor. But other than that I'm just glad the team got the win."

Marcin Gortat had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix, which won for only the fourth time on the road this season and second time in New Orleans. Channing Frye added 16 points and Jared Dudley 15.

Hornets reserve point guard Greivis Vasquez had career highs of 20 points and 12 assists for the Hornets, making him the first reserve in franchise history to hit the 20-point and 10-assist mark in a game.

Jason Smith added 16 points for the Hornets, who led 57-44 late in the first half, but were outscored 76-46 the rest of the way en route to a third straight loss and 18th defeat in 20 games. Trevor Ariza added 15 points for New Orleans, while Emeka Okafor scored 11.

There were 20 lead changes and 15 ties in the game, and New Orleans was as close as 95-94 after Vasquez's 3 with 8:14 to go in the game. Then the Suns began to pull away, outscoring the Hornets 25-4 the rest of the way. Gortat's free throws began a 13-0 Suns run that included Frye's layup as he was fouled, Nash closed out that spurt with a 3 that made it 108-94 with 5:10 left.

"We shot the ball well. I thought that was a big key," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "Obviously when Steve is going like that we're pretty good. He was real aggressive offensively."

Phoenix wound up shooting nearly 53 percent (41 of 78) for the game, while New Orleans shot 52 percent (40 of 77). The big problem for the Hornets were their 17 turnovers - including 13 in the second half - which led to 27 Suns points. Phoenix also shot a whopping 39 free throws, hitting 32.

The Hornets, who shot nearly 60 percent (25 of 42) in the opening half, led by 13 points when Jack made his second 3-pointer to make it 57-44 with 2:12 left in the second quarter.

Nash then hit a reverse layup and a floater before setting up Gortat's jumper, which comprised the beginning of 12-2 run to close out the half and cut New Orleans' lead to 59-56.

"It seems like we had the game in hand or had a rhythm to the game that was in our favor," said Hornets guard Jarrett Jack, who had 10 points. "To let them come back in the fashion and quick manner they did is just difficult."

Nash finished the half with 19 points, 12 in the second quarter.

Phoenix then scored 10 straight points early in the third quarter, capped by Nash's jumper, to go up 66-62. When that surge ended, Phoenix had scored on 15 of 16 possessions.

The Hornets managed to regroup and stay close until early in the fourth quarter before Phoenix finally pulled away for good.

"I thought their veteran leadership showed up tonight," Williams said of the Suns. "They never got rattled. They made the right plays. Sometimes when you run into a snowball like that, it's hard to stop it from rolling."

NOTES: Nash now has 9,441 assists in his NBA career, which ranks sixth all time in the NBA. He is 46 behind Oscar Robertson for fifth and 200 behind Earvin "Magic" Johnson for fourth. ... The Hornets set season highs for most points in a half (59) and in a second quarter (32). They also made a season-high nine 3-pointers on 16 attempts. ... Hornets coach Monty Williams decided to start DaJuan Summers at shooting guard for Marco Belinelli, who played in a reserve role. Summers finished with five points and Belinelli, who played more minutes, scored 10. ... The Hornets hit season highs in both points allowed and points scored. ... Okafor had one block to reach 900 in his career.

Notebook: Suns 120, Hornets 103

By Larry Holder, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday February 1, 2012 11:22PM

THE FACTS: Steve Nash displayed no signs of a bruised thigh that sidelined him Monday night. Nash was quite efficient and quite dominant with 30 points and 10 assists as the Phoenix Suns toppled the New Orleans Hornets 120-103 on Wednesday night at the New Orleans Arena. Nash finished 13-for-16 from the floor in less than 29 minutes of action.

QUOTABLE: "I don't think anybody really understands, he's still really hurt. He's just one of those guys. He digs in when we really needed a win. He did a good job. I'd say if you wanted a percentage, he's still probably at 70 percent. But Steve at 70 percent is still pretty good."
-- Suns coach Alvin Gentry on Nash's outstanding game

THE STAT: There was a glaring disparity in the amount of free throws each team attempted. The Suns went 32-for-39 from the free-throw line in New Orleans. Phoenix made near twice as many free throws as the Hornets actually shot as New Orleans was 14-for-17 from the stripe. Gentry said the Suns did a nice job of attacking the basket and catching the Hornets off guard by getting to them in rotation.

TURNING POINT: The fourth quarter as a whole turned the game upside down. The Suns went on a 13-0 run midway through the third quarter to a one-point lead and a back-and-forth game into a 108-94 advantage and a blowout. Phoenix outscored the Hornets 32-16 in the final quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "The thing that I told our team was just talking about growing up individually and growing up as a team. You're going to deal with runs and we didn't deal with runs tonight. It can't affect the way that you play the game or your attitude."
-- Hornets coach Monty Williams

HOT: Nash played great, yet so did Suns center Marcin Gortat. Gortat scored 23 points on 6-for-10 shooting and also went 11-for-14 from the free-throw line. Gentry said it's something he expects from Gortat on a regular basis.

NOT: The Hornets are in one of their worst funks in recent team history. New Orleans has now lost 18 of their last 20 games.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: This probably won't be a regular occurrence, but backup Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez had probably the best game of his career against the Suns. Vasquez put up the first double-double of his NBA career with 20 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

NOTABLE: Suns forward Grant Hill sat out the entire second half with a sore right knee. Hill only played 12 minutes against the Hornets scoring two points. ... Nash passed former Suns great Kevin Johnson to become the team's all-time assist leader. ... Channing Frye had 16 points for the Suns and Jared Dudley scored 15 points in the win. ... The Hornets had seven players in double figures and still lost by 17 points. Jason Smith scored 16 points, while Trevor Ariza added 15 points. ... Williams said he thought the Chris Kaman situation has been handled rather well from both sides as the Hornets continue to pursue a trade suitor for Kaman. The former All-Star center won't play again until he's traded away. "I've talked to Chris the whole step of the way until we made a decision," Williams said. "I explained everything that I was doing to make sure that he never felt disrespected. ... Kids play that game together called telephone to where you talk to him, you then talk to him. By the time it gets down to him, it's like something else. I feel like, and I would hope he feels the same way, that we always value how he's portrayed because he's a valued big."

UP NEXT: For the Suns, Friday @ Houston, Saturday vs. Charlotte, Monday @ Atlanta. For the Hornets, Thursday @ San Antonio, Saturday @ Detroit, Monday vs. Sacramento.

• Suns: --
• Hornets: Gordon

• Suns: Telfair
• Hornets: Landry

• Lead Changes: 20
• Times Tied: 15

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #27 Dick Bavetta, #7 Kevin Fehr, #44 Eli Roe
• Attendance: 13598
• Duration: 2:14