<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>TORONTO (CP) -- Steve Nash of Victoria enjoyed a happy homecoming Friday night, scoring 20 points and adding 10 assists as the Phoenix Suns outscored the Toronto Raptors 140-126.Leandro Barbosa poured in a career-high 28 points as the run-and-gun Suns tore apart Toronto's vulnerable defence, shooting 58 per cent from the field and dishing out 37 assists for their second straight win following a two-game losing streak. With the victory, Phoenix (49-23) moved closer to clinching the Pacific Division, and with it, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.Morris Peterson countered with a career-high 38 points as Toronto (26-46) allowed the second-most points in team history but held its own offensively against a Phoenix team stacked with long-distance shooters and adept ballhandlers. Mike James added 36 points for the Raptors, who played without injured all-star Chris Bosh (sprained thumb) for the second straight game.Toronto has lost four of its last five games.Nash was cheered wildly during team introductions, and drew applause from the Air Canada Centre crowd of 19,800 with every nifty pass or made shot in his only Toronto visit of the year. The reigning league MVP, who was presented with his Canadian Press male athlete of the year award prior to the game, went 5-for-6 from beyond the arc and had plenty of help as Phoenix had seven players score at least 14 points.Nash showed off his passing chops as well, mixing bounce passes with behind-the-back feeds in an entertaining first half. After one Raptor basket in the third, the six-foot-three speedster hit Shawn Marion with a picture-perfect 90-foot inbounds pass for an easy layup.The Raptors clawed their way back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to close to within one, but the Suns put together a 19-4 run stretching into the fourth to effectively shut the door on a Toronto comeback. The crowd booed lustily after Barbosa found a wide-open Boris Diaw under the net for a two-handed dunk with eight minutes left in the game.Diaw flirted with a triple-double, posting 26 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.The Suns, who lead the league in scoring at 108 points per game, wasted little time sprinting all over the Raptors, using their vaunted fast break to build to a 12-4 lead before the game was three minutes old. The Raptors closed to within three before the Suns went on a 10-0 run, capped by three-pointers from Raja Bell and James Jones.Barbosa took over when Nash headed to the bench, scoring 11 points in a four-minute span as the Suns took a 39-28 lead after one.Peterson single-handedly kept the Raptors in the game in the second quarter. He converted a rare-four point play, then followed that with a running jumper and a three-pointer to close the Raptors to within seven. The Suns countered with a 10-2 run _ buoyed again by threes from Jones and Bell _ and took a 70-60 lead into the break.Phoenix shot 62.8 per cent in the first half, and had a whopping 22 assists on their 27 field goals.Notes: Toronto allowed 152 points in a 32-point loss to the L.A. Clippers on March 13, 1998. ... Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo met with members of the Suns before the game. Colangelo left Phoenix after eleven years as GM to accept a position with Toronto. ``It's good to see familiar faces,'' said Colangelo. ``I'm happy that the team is doing well.'' ... The Raptors activated G Jose Calderon from the inactive list prior to the game. Calderon, who had missed the previous eight games with left Achilles tendinitis, finished with six points and two assists in 16 minutes. ... Raptors C Pape Sow set career highs with 13 points and 15 rebounds but clanked a pair of dunks off the back rim.</div>http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/postup_060331.html
I saw bits and pieces of the game... whatever I could catch in between breaks during the Sixers game, and it sure was a good game. The crowd was really into it, the Raptors were really into it, it was just a great overall atmosphere.
it was a great game but the suns just pulled away at the end but pape played a good game but i hated that sam played small at the end with barrett james and jose in at the same time during the end of the gamep.s i got revenge on nba 2k6 some guy played the suns i scored 67 points with mo pete and beat him by ten points :biggrin:
Man I was at this game. Without Bosh we just couldnt stop the Suns on the fast break. Very dissapointing.
