In the wake of the Suns' recent buzzer-beating losses, we're taking a "it's not that bad" approach. Suns.com's Matt Petersen looks at the worst one-shot heartbreaks Phoenix has suffered over the years, rating each of them based on five factors: stakes, opposition, helplessness, odds and what-the-heck. Check out the intro piece for a primer on how those factors are determined.
After reviewing some of the most heart-wrenching moments in Suns history, we're confident the last week won't feel nearly as painful.
The Coin Flip | Paxson for Three | Kiss of Death | Cheap-Shot Rob | Duncan Goes Glass | Artest Put-Back
The Shot
This was a shot of a different sort. After Phoenix had stormed back in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals, the Spurs were down three and needed to foul.
Robert Horry did so…and then some.
His egregious hip-check sent Steve Nash flying into the scorer’s table. Horry was ejected, but the commotion caused by the play prompted Suns starters Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw to briefly step away from the bench. League rules stipulated their leaving the bench merited a Game 5 suspension with the series now tied at 2-2. San Antonio went on to win the series 4-2.
Stakes
The Spurs had already proven to be frustratingly invulnerable to the Suns’ usual fast-paced runs…until Game 4. Staging a comeback in San Antonio was a major breakthrough for Phoenix, not just for the series, but for their overall confidence against the Spurs. Rating: 8
Opposition
Horry’s play would send this rivalry up another notch or three, but the series was already heated after Nash’s nose was split open and Game 1 and he was kneed in the groin in Game 3. The physical encounters left little love for the team in silver and black, a feeling that was punctuated by this latest incident. Rating: 8
Helplessness
League rules are what they are. Stoudemire and Diaw did indeed step away from the bench, though many would quickly point out they did nothing to escalate the on-court commotion. The infraction itself, however, would not be debated, leaving Phoenix without its leading scorer and most versatile forward for a pivotal Game 5. Rating: 10
Odds
It truly seemed as though something had been conquered. The Spurs had held the Suns’ number for years, and for Phoenix to stage a comeback of this magnitude in enemy territory showed new depths of resolve. Had the Spurs been solved?
If that was the case, it wouldn’t matter. Missing Stoudemire and Diaw would prove too costly a loss in Game 5. The weight of misfortune carried through Game 6 in San Antonio, where Phoenix would lose the series. Rating: 10
What the Heck
Many Suns fans were busy celebrating an unlikely road win in San Antonio even as word started leaking that the suspensions were a possibility. The news caught many off-guard, and the net reaction amounted to a roar of disbelief: “Their player shoves our player, and we get the bigger punishment?”
Horry’s two-game suspension was, to Suns fans, a footnote. At that point in his career, he was a bit player, hardly a relevant producer in the Spurs’ overall scheme. The same could not be said of Stoudemire and Diaw, two of Phoenix’s best players. Rating: 10