Suns Escape Miami in OT Behind Nowitzki's Double-Double, Durant - BullsClips's Blog

BullsClips's Blog

Suns Escape Miami in OT Behind Nowitzki's Double-Double, Durant

Posted on June 4, 2011 at 06:22 PM.

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MIAMI, Fla. � The Phoenix Suns came away with a thrilling 115-111 win in Miami in overtime over the Heat at America Airlines Arena Wednesday night. Dirk Nowitzki posted a double-double, finishing with 24 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, while teammate Kevin Durant led the Suns with 33 points, including shooting 5-6 from behind the arc, and nine rebounds.

�We really had to fight for this one,� Durant said in a good-natured locker room Wednesday night. �It�s business as usual for us, but you have to hand it to Miami. Iggy (Andre Iguodala), BD (Baron Davis) and those guys hit some big shots and they wouldn�t go away. We pulled it out, took a little longer than usual, but it was fun out there.�

Iguodala finished with a game-high 42 points, though he did so on just 17-47 shooting (36.7%). He shot much better in the first half, going 8-14 from the field and helped bring Miami out of an early hole (trailed 29-15 after one).

�I am frustrated, we let this one get away from us,� Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters following the tough overtime defeat to Phoenix. �This is going to be difficult to take as a unit, but we have to get over it. They (the Suns) are an excellent team and should be one of the better teams in the league, but we gave them one tonight.�

It wasn�t all roses for the Suns, as starting point guard Mike Conley went down with 4:01 remaining in the second quarter with a lower back strain. Word from team physicians was that it is a lower back strain and he is expected to miss anywhere from 1-2 weeks.

The third quarter was a see-saw battle that saw the Phoenix lead grow to as many as 12 points, and as low as four points at the back end of the quarter.

With 6:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, Baron Davis, who finished with 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, knocked down a jump shot from just inside the three-point line at the top of the key to cut the Phoenix lead to 83-82.

The Suns then quickly pushed the lead back to seven, on a mini 6-0 run that saw back-to-back three pointers by Marcus Thornton and Durant. Minutes later after a mini run of their own, Miami�s Al-Forouq Aminu made a layup with 2:15 remaining in the fourth quarter to trim the lead back to one at 95-94.

After a Durant bucket, Davis hit a three-pointer to give Miami the 99-98 lead with just 12.8 seconds remaining. After Nowitzki had his driving layup blocked with six seconds left, and Delonte West grabbed the rebound and was sent to the foul line.

West knocked down just one of two from the line to make it 100-98, but left the door open for the inevitable. Nowitzki and the Suns ran a nice out-of-bounds play to get him free under the basket for an uncontested layup to tie things at 100 with 4.6 seconds in regulation left. Miami then threw the ball away on the ensuing inbounds play, sending the game into overtime, the first such game for both teams.

With 1:48 remaining in the extra frame and the game tied at 106, Thornton untied it with one of his three a triples on the night from the corner nearest the Heat bench. Davis sent the crowd into a frenzy, answering right back with a three of his own to knot it at 109.

Nowitzki�s floater with 49 seconds left in overtime put the Suns up four points for good, 115-111. Iguodala and Davis each missed three pointers on the same possession to cut into the lead and the Suns escaped with their 11th straight win.

Phoenix is back in action tomorrow night against Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash and the Orlando Magic (2-9) at the Amway Center, while the Heat look to rebound on Friday night against Chris Bosh, Deron Williams and the Charlotte Bobcats (6-5).

Nov 17, 2010 - PHX at MIA
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Phoenix Suns (11-0)	29	22	28	21	15	115
Miami Heat (6-5)	14	32	28	26	11	111

Phoenix Suns
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Mike Conley	9	3-6	0-0	0-0	1	5	0	0	4	6
Marcus Thornton	31	7-15	3-4	0-0	6	4	1	0	1	17
Kevin Durant	35	13-21	5-6	2-2	9	1	0	1	3	33
Dirk Nowitzki	33	12-22	0-3	0-2	18	2	0	1	1	24
Tyson Chandler	34	2-6	0-1	0-0	10	4	1	1	3	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Nick Young	17	4-7	0-1	0-0	4	2	0	1	1	8
Kirk Hinrich	27	4-10	2-2	0-0	4	12	2	0	4	10
Omer Asik	8	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	0	1	1	2	0
Thabo Sefalosha	9	0-4	0-0	0-0	3	1	0	0	2	0
Brandon Bass	15	4-5	0-0	0-0	7	0	0	0	2	8
James Jones	3	1-1	1-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	3
Daniel Gibson	5	1-3	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	1	2
TEAM TOTALS		51-100	11-18	2-4	65	32	5	5	25	115

Miami Heat
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Baron Davis	36	9-25	2-9	0-0	8	9	4	0	2	20
Andre Iguodala	35	17-47	6-18	2-2	9	1	0	1	0	42
Al-Forouq Aminu	33	4-6	0-0	0-0	4	0	2	0	1	8
Darrell Arthur	25	3-8	0-0	0-0	5	0	2	0	0	6
Emeka Okafor	39	4-10	0-0	0-0	14	3	7	2	3	8
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Delonte West	17	4-9	0-0	1-2	3	5	2	0	0	9
Jermaine Taylor	10	3-5	1-1	0-2	3	0	0	0	0	7
Marvin Williams	10	2-4	1-2	2-2	2	0	1	0	0	7
Larry Sanders	6	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Manny Harris	6	2-4	0-0	0-0	2	1	0	0	0	4
Julian Wright	4	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Timofey Mozgov	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		48-120	10-30	5-8	51	19	19	3	6	111