Outdoor game gives Suns chillsJerry Brown, Tribune
INDIAN WELLS, Calif - When the Suns played in the only other outdoor games in NBA history 36 years ago, they had to deal with a flock of birds, a swarm of bugs and sticky humidity.
And while the challenges were different Saturday night at the windy and chilly Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Phoenix?s
77-72 loss to the Denver Nuggets proved one thing ? some sports are simply best played indoors.
?I didn?t expect it to be this cold here. It felt like Edmonton, Alberta, not Palm Springs,? Suns guard Steve Nash said. ?Growing up we played in weather colder than this all the time ? but that was 16 years ago."
As temperatures dipped into the low 60s in the second half and the wind chill had both players and fans seeking towels and blankets for warmth, the Suns shot a frigid 31.6 percent from the field (25-for-79) and didn?t score more than 21 points in any quarter. The Nuggets played without Allen Iverson (knee) and Carmelo Anthony (finger) but nursed home a 47-41 halftime lead despite shooting 37 percent themselves.
The announced sellout crowd of 16,236 was loud and very pro-Suns, but the designated home team didn?t give them much to cheer about. How?s this for a statistic: Nash, who missed seven of 12 shots himself, led the Suns with 16 points ? and was the only member of his team to reach double figures.
The two teams combined to make only three of their 27 3-pointers, as the swirling winds acted as the best defender on the floor.
?It was a big factor. The ball is in the air a lot in basketball,? Nash said. ?You shoot the ball, and it starts slicing right ? it?s tough to be accurate.?
But there were some bright spots among the stars, led by Robin Lopez. The rookie center not only stayed out of foul trouble for the first time in three games, and blocked seven shots in 18 minutes.
He had eight points, five rebounds and four blocks in the first half alone, including a pair of big-time, at-the-apex rejections on Nene and Kenyon Martin.
?Every time out, I feel a little more comfortable on the floor,? he said. ?I?m trying to keep my eye on the ball when I?m on the weak side. We?ve been working on that a lot . This is a whole different game from college. Mentally they think on a whole different level.?
But for some Suns, it was a little harder to concentrate while playing in the great outdoors.
?At one point, I had my head up and I saw the moon. That was a first,? said Suns forward Boris Diaw, who wore a headband not for warmth, but to represent the playground atmosphere of the evening. ?It was fun, but also cold.?
J.R. Smith and Mateen Cleaves each had 12 to lead Denver, and Nene added 10. But Suns coach Terry Porter said it would be hard to glean much from Saturday?s game when it comes to teaching tools.
?Defensively we had a lot of breakdowns, we just let guys get by us too easily,? he said. ?They did a good job of putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket and to the free-throw line, which was smart with the weather. But I?m not going to spend too much time looking at the film on this one.?
When he was told it was 105 degrees in Indian Wells as recently as three days ago, Porter spoke for many.
?Well, we should have had the game three days ago,? he said.
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