Phoenix (4-0) at Orlando (3-1)

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  • Game info: 7:00 pm EST Wed Nov 4, 2009
  • TV: My45, SS

By MATT BECKER, STATS Senior Writer Nov 4, 1:33 am EST

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With Steve Nash(notes) once again playing like a two-time MVP, the Phoenix Suns have been one of the league’s biggest surprises through the first week of the season.

Nash looks to help the Suns open with five consecutive wins for the first time in 25 years Wednesday night when they visit the Orlando Magic, who return home after suffering their first loss.

After finishing ninth in the Western Conference last season and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004, Phoenix is one of three remaining undefeated teams in the league in 2009-10. The others - Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers - are the last two NBA champions.

The Suns posted a 104-96 victory over previously unbeaten Miami on Tuesday to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2004-05. Phoenix hasn’t opened a season with five consecutive victories since 1984-85.

“We don’t read anything into being 4-0. We really don’t,” coach Alvin Gentry said.

A big reason for the fast start has been the play of Nash.

Last season, the 35-year-old point guard averaged 15.7 points and 9.7 assists - his fewest since averaging 8.8 assists for Dallas in 2003-04 - but he’s averaging 12.5 assists and 21.5 points on 54.2 percent shooting in 2009-10.

Nash, winner of consecutive MVP awards in 2004-05 and 2005-06, scored 30 points, shot 11 of 15 from the field and added eight assists against the Heat. He was clutch down the stretch, scoring 25 after halftime and making 10 of his final 11 shots over the last 27 minutes.

“He came out in that third quarter and put on a clinic,” Suns forward Grant Hill(notes) said. “It was really fun to watch.”

Nash averaged 20.5 points and 9.0 assists in two games against Orlando last season, when each team won on its home court.

To extend their winning streak, Nash and the Suns may want to employ the same strategy Detroit used in its 85-80 victory over the Magic (3-1) on Tuesday.

The Pistons went right after Orlando’s Dwight Howard(notes) and frustrated him into fouling out in just 17 minutes. The three-time All-Star center finished with eight points and five rebounds, and along the way he re-aggravated a shoulder injury sustained in Sunday’s 125-116 victory at Toronto.

“It’s just very, very sore, but it is hard when you get hit so hard every night,” said Howard, who averaged 21.7 points on 62.9 percent shooting and 16.0 rebounds in the first three games. “I’m a big guy, but it still hurts when I’m getting hit this much. It’s getting worse, but I have to keep my composure and try not to complain. The last two games, though, I’ve been very close to going off.”

Howard averaged 20.0 points and 7.5 boards against the Suns in 2008-09. After trading Shaquille O’Neal(notes) in the offseason, the Suns will now rely on Channing Frye(notes) and Amare Stoudemire to adequately defend Orlando’s center.

If Frye and Stoudemire succeed, the Magic may need guard Jameer Nelson(notes) to pick up his production - especially considering Vince Carter(notes) is being slowed by ankle problems.

Nelson finished with seven points, six assists and five turnovers Tuesday after scoring 30 with five assists and two turnovers against the Raptors. He had 16 points in his only game against the Suns last season, a 113-112 loss Dec. 12 in Phoenix.

Updated Nov 4, 1:33 am EST
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Team Comparison

Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
Phoenix 13-3 1st Pacific / 1st West 111.9 105.2 Road 7-3 Won 3 8-2
Orlando 13-4 1st Southeast / 1st East 99.0 93.2 Home 6-2 Won 2 8-2

Notes

F Grant Hill is the only Suns player to appear in every game this season. ... C Shaquille O'Neal failed to make the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season. ... F Luis Amundson won the Suns' Dan Majerle Hustle Award for outstanding effort.

Apr 16, 1:55 am EDT

April 22 C Dwight Howard's previous playoff high was 29 points against the Raptors in the first round last year. He had 31 points and 16 rebounds in his 15th career playoff game. ... Central Florida resident and the Magic's most famous fan, Tiger Woods, was sitting at his courtside seat across from Philadelphia's bench. ... F Rashard Lewis had missed the last three games with right knee tendinitis. F Hedo Turkoglu had been sidelined for the last two games with a sprained left ankle.

Apr 19, 10:33 pm EDT
NBA

47 Comments

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  1. richard s
    47. Posted by richard s Fri Nov 6 3:57am EST

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    Good!
  2. The Drinker
    46. Posted by The Drinker Fri Nov 6 12:34am EST

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    Post #44-@#$%,

    The Magic Will Get Blown Out By Detroit Next Game.

    "CHEERS"
  3. The Drinker
    45. Posted by The Drinker Thu Nov 5 11:49pm EST

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    Post #44-@#$%,

    The Magic Will Get Blown Out My Detroit Next Game.

    "CHEERS"
  4. fang
    44. Posted by fang Thu Nov 5 11:29pm EST

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    43. Posted by The Drinker Thu Nov 5 10:45pm EST Report Abuse
    The Magic Can't Ball....The Deepest Team In The League?(Yea,The Little League).

    And Stan Has Less Of A Clue About Basketball Then His Brother Does.

    Sorry Magic Fans,But You Gals Won't Even Make The Playoffs This Year.

    "CHEERS" drinker, you are full of it.
  5. The Drinker
    43. Posted by The Drinker Thu Nov 5 10:45pm EST

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    The Magic Can't Ball....The Deepest Team In The League?(Yea,The Little League).

    And Stan Has Less Of A Clue About Basketball Then His Brother Does.

    Sorry Magic Fans,But You Gals Won't Even Make The Playoffs This Year.

    "CHEERS"
  6. Steven
    42. Posted by Steven Thu Nov 5 6:19pm EST

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    keep thinking you are gonna win the championship this year magic because it won't happen i can guarantee that.
  7. <i>chipmurkle</i>
    41. Posted by chipmurkle Thu Nov 5 3:05pm EST

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    Derrick R:

    "On paper, yes, the Magic has a good lineup. But that does not translate into wins"

    Huh? They won plenty of games last year with a similar line-up. They're off to a great start despite several players being absent.

    The rest of your post consists of "yeah I mean I guess X is an all-star quality player, but X just isn't a winner."

    Not very enlightening. You could've made that argument against Garnett a couple of years ago. You could say the same thing about Kobe before his most recent title.
  8. paa
    40. Posted by paa Thu Nov 5 2:15pm EST

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    Go MAGIC! Stan Van Gundy's boys has taught the Sun's a neat basketball lesson.
  9. Dre
    39. Posted by Dre Thu Nov 5 11:56am EST

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    Go Gators! The real Florida team!!
  10. Derrick R
    38. Posted by Derrick R Thu Nov 5 10:22am EST

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    On paper, yes, the Magic has a good lineup. But that does not translate into wins. We've seen a lot of this kinds of team in the past. But eventually, they fell short of winning it all. ZOMBIE#26, you ask what's wrong with the starting lineup? I'll tell you, for one Vince Carter. I don't know why so many fans think so high of him. Look back on his entire career and you'll see that the guy is just not a winner. He will give you highlights once in a while, but he will not deliver in crunchtime. He will take the shots,of course. But it will be flat jumpshots. The Magics will miss the heroics of Hedo come playoff time. Vince will be Vince. He is just not competitive enough to get to the next level. Sorry. And Nelson? The guy had some good seasons, but I don't think he'll be an impact. He is just too short, and he doesn't make that many three's. Remember how Rafer shot the lights out of the CAVS in the playoffs? Nelson cannot do that come the playoffs. And Dwight Howard. The guy is extremely athletic. But he has no low post skills. He dunks,yes. But he just has so killer move on the post. Kareem Jabbar said it so in the Finals. He can't post and shoot a jumpshot. What more shoot free throws. Sure he dominated Ilgauskus for the guy was slow. But he can't do anything with Gasol and the Lakers help defense in the Finals. He has a lot of improving to do. But I don't think it will happen. He already thinks his that good. So, if you ask me if the Magics were are good as last season? Hell, no. But that's the same for the Cavs. The Celtics are really good this season. And I expect another surprise team rising in the EAST.
  11. Tand T
    37. Posted by Tand T Thu Nov 5 10:15am EST

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    Suns, richardson and hill..... zero points ,,, ??????????????????
  12. Erock
    36. Posted by Erock Thu Nov 5 9:47am EST

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    Who cares who has the deepest team in the league? That only helps you in emergencies and during the regular season. In the playoffs, it is generally your top 8 guys that get the work, the LAkers didn't win last year because they had the deepest team, they won because their best 6 players beat our best 6 players. The important thing is to develop a rotation that is formidable, and right now the most formidable team out there is the Celtics' team. Their top 6-7 is out-defending everyone, and they have plenty of scoring options to go with that defense, the Magic need to find their defensive mojo to think they are going to make it all the way, this trying to outscore the other team instead of shutting the other team down will only lead to playoff collapse.
  13. elth
    35. Posted by elth Thu Nov 5 9:32am EST

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    Zombie #26 - nothing in theory, but Lewis struggles to defend the quicker SFs in the league, but has just the right combination of strength and quickness to deal with most PFs not named Pau Gasol.

    Given the choice, SVG is always going to pick the better defensive matchup.

    Plus if we start Anderson, we still have to try to find minutes for Barnes, Pietrus and Redick off the bench at SF and SG. Either way a good role player isn't getting enough court time.
  14. Michelle S
    34. Posted by Michelle S Thu Nov 5 9:19am EST

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    E.S.-Is there a point to that rambling mess?
  15. E. S.
    33. Posted by E. S. Thu Nov 5 8:07am EST

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    I couldn't help but notice: Orlando Magic player RYAN ANDerSON was born on May 6, 1988. The date was one year to the day before boxer Roy Jones Jr. had his first fight as a professional against Ricky Randall. Of course, a few months after RYAN ANDerSON was born in Sacramento, CA, Roy Jones Jr. was in the international spotlight after he was robbed of a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

    NBC had the U.S. television rights to broadcast those games and "Today" show anchor bRYANt GumbEL hosted the network's Olympic coverage in a performance that was largely critically panned.

    RYAN ANDerSON was born 7,050 days after Roy Jones Jr. (b. 1/16/69 in PENsaCOLA, eSCAMbia County, Florida. 70-50=20
  16. BMW
    30. Posted by BMW Thu Nov 5 6:33am EST

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    Magic are not playing bad considering they are missing 2 starters! It would have been interesting to see them try again with Hedo, but they should still be very good. It would have been challenging for them to beat Cav's or the Celtics this season! Right now, it is hard to see them playing Cleveland, but they should be very competitive if NOT better than the Cavaliers. I do not like the match up against LeBron, and Shaq should cause many problems for Howard. But on offense, I don't like the Cavaliers trying to stay with the pick and rolls at all. Shaq and Z are very slow, and it almost seems like they may need to play LeBron at the 4 during stretches, which means Anderson V will not get any hustle plays. Whoever can impose their will the most will win. I think the ref's will put Howard in a lot of foul trouble and that may be the difference. Magic were smart to keep their back up center.
  17. hirvy
    29. Posted by hirvy Thu Nov 5 3:31am EST

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    hey Ken, I don't hate the Magic. Infact i think they have a great team and howard is the best def player in the league. your comment about the suns showing they have a week bench means crap all. the suns bench outscored,outassisted and outrebounded the magic bench so that makes no sense at all. we have a young bench and in a year to come they will be up there.
  18. hirvy
    28. Posted by hirvy Thu Nov 5 3:25am EST

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    i love how people think they know it all and comment on such things as deepest bench and best team and blah blah blah. the game was good to watch even though it became a blowout. Suns have a bench that is young and building but arguably have one of the best starting 5's, atleast in the west. You are all looking at one game out of 82 and have made your mind up. Howard played poorly. sure he scored 25 but had 5 fouls and 5 turnovers and only got 5 rebounds(whats up with that) but they still won. Both teams have injuries,etc and neither team is in peak form.
    It's too early in the season to know who the best is. wait til feb and then your comments will be valid but right now all i can hear is blah blah blah.
  19. lkrkb24
    27. Posted by lkrkb24 Thu Nov 5 3:01am EST

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    im a lakers fan and at the moment it seems like we dont even hav a bench the way they're playing and i know we are missing pau and that lamar will be a bench player but still other teams have way better benches than us our starters do 80% of the work usually anyways
  20. Zombie #26
    26. Posted by Zombie #26 Thu Nov 5 2:40am EST

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    What's wrong with this starting lineup:
    1-nelson
    2-vince
    3-rashard
    4-anderson
    5-dwight
  21. Cunt M
    25. Posted by Cunt M Thu Nov 5 2:12am EST

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    With all due respect to the magic I honestly think their bench is very deep, but not as deep as the celts.

    That is my honest opinion, but we will never know until the finals.
  22. Zach
    24. Posted by Zach Thu Nov 5 1:50am EST

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    Magic = deepest team in the entire NBA...deal with it...just wait till we have our entire team healthy and suspension free
  23. DC
    23. Posted by DC Thu Nov 5 1:19am EST

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    Ken,

    Sorry to say it, but the Lakers bench is better.

    Scratch what I just said. I'm NOT sorry to say it.
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