Johnson breaks the Kings heart once again


Suns Boxscore | Kings Boxscore

Stoudemire pulling down the big rebound during the 4th quarter
SACRAMENTO, Cali. Feb. 8 (Ticker) -- Joe Johnson made a strong argument against the Sacramento Kings about why he wasn’t chosen as an all-star. With two of his teammates receiving All-Star invitations before the game (Stoudemire and Nash), he congratulated them, but the night belong to Johnson. Johnson scored 25 points and hit the game winning shot over Cuttino Mobley at the buzzer as the Phoenix Suns snapped an eight-game losing streak at ARCO Arena with a 106-104 victory over the Sacramento Kings. His fellow teammate, now an All-Star, Steve Nash had a season-low 0 assists for the Suns, who won here for the first time since April 9, 2000 and improved to an NBA-best 21-7 on the road. No other team has more than 16 road wins. “I was very disappointed in myself,” Nash said. “It’s my job to help create shots, but the Kings defense was actually very tough tonight and they had a great game plan. The good thing is that we ended up winning the game.”
The Kings appeared to take control in the third quarter when Peja Stojakovic hit a 3-pointer with 2:26 left for a 72-58 lead. They led heading into the 4th quarter until Marion and Joe Johnson combined for 12 points in a 12-4 run over the first 4:20 to put Phoenix ahead, 87-82. The game remained close and the Suns regained their lead when Johnson found Quentin Richardson in the post for an easy layup over Mike Bibby to give the Suns a 103-102 edge with 16 seconds on the clock. On Sacramento's final possession, Mobley - who had a team-high with 27 points passed to a wide-open Stojakovic 15 feet near the basket and Peja nailed the jumper with just 4.3 seconds remaining in the game. After the Suns used their last timeout of the game, the Suns knew once again that Johnson was their hottest guy. “He shot the best percentage with 10-14 from the field, so we knew he had to be the guy,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We also remembered him hitting that game winner against the Kings earlier this season, so we were bound to try it again.” Marion inbounded the ball at midcourt to find Johnson on the right wing. Stoudemire set a pick for him and Johnson rolled to the corner to shoot a three-point bomb from the corner which went in as time expired. “ARCO Arena was as silent as I’ve ever heard it before,” Marion said. “It was like someone died in the arena.”
The Kings thought Johnson’s shot didn’t count, but after the refs clearly looked at the replay, the shot was good as the ball released from Johnson hands with about .6 seconds left on the clock. The crowd boo’ed the Suns all the way out until they reached their locker rooms. “It felt great to do it again,” Johnson said. “My teammates and coaches had confidence in me once again to take the big shot.” The Kings played their starting lineup intact for most of the second half. Phoenix is in a stretch where it plays six of 13 against teams in the top 8 in the Western Conference -- Sacramento, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston and two others are against division leaders Boston and Detroit.
GAME NOTES
Brad Miller was the only Sacramento King to make the All-Star Game this year. “Seven years in and I haven’t made it,” Bibby said. “There’s nothing I can do. You can’t get mad about something you don’t expect to happen, and I didn’t expect it to happen.” Said Adelman: “I was surprised. I really thought we’d have maybe two or possibly three players. That’s the way it is. You only have seven spots.” Adelman and Suns coach Mike D’Antoni were roomates in the ‘70s playing for the Kansas City/Omaha Kings. Amare Stoudemire made the All-Star Game for the first time in his short three year career. He averaged 22.7ppg and just over 10rpg to lead his team in both categories. The Suns recieved their 40th win after tonight's game which is a franchise-record for getting to 40 wins before the All-Star break.
Game Photos
Bibby going for the steal as Nash blows past him
Stojakovic hacking Marion in the air without a foul being called
Peja launching the three-pointer over Nash
Richardson shooting the fadeaway over All-Star Brad Miller and Stojakovic
Mobley led the Kings with 27 points for the game
Brad Miller scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the loss to the Suns