The Phoenix Suns were down 8 with three minutes left.  They made a bunch of big plays to get themselves back into the game, only to give it away.  First let’s look at how they got back in it.

After an Antonio McDyess jumper to extend the lead to 8, the Suns took a timeout.  Now with three minutes left, 8 points is a pretty big lead, so on offense, you want to get the best quick shot you can.  That is exactly what the Suns do out of this timeout:

The first thing to notice is that Steve Nash lets the ball bounce all the way to half-court without touching it.  Even with 3 minutes left, every second is important, and Steve Nash understands this.

The Suns run a pick and roll.  The pick and roll really killed the Spurs late.

Usually it was Amar’e Stoudemire on the roll that hurt the Spurs but on this possession, it was actually defended really well here.  The Spurs quickly double off the screen, not giving Nash a window to throw the pass.  This is where Steve Nash is so great.  Instead of panicking and forcing a pass into Amar’e, Nash takes a step back dribble, creates a lane, and attacks the sideline.

After getting the ball along the sideline, Nash gets himself into the middle of the paint.  Nash puts the Spurs in a real tough position here as Manu Ginobili is forced to cover two men beyond the three point line.  Instead of picking one before the pass is made, Ginobili puts himself in the center of the two Suns.

Nash chooses to pass to Channing Frye, who quickly swings it to Jason Richardson.  This is a great play by Frye, he knew what he was going to do with the ball before it even got to him, and that quick decision making is what prevents the Spurs from rotating correctly.

Jason Richardson makes the catch and drills a wide open three.  Why was he so wide open?  Well, as the pass was made, Steve Nash ends up being in George Hill’s way.  Instead of getting out of the way, Nash sets an impromptu screen on Hill, freeing up Richardson.  Here it is in real time:

After this three pointer, the Suns hammered the Spurs inside with Amar’e to claw back into the game.  Stoudemire scored 12 straight points for the Suns in the closing parts of the fourth.  Aside from two plays (4 points), it all came on the pick and roll.  Instead of showing you all of them, I picked out the one you all have already seen.

Again, Steve Nash lets the ball roll to three quarters court, saving a few more seconds.

Nash comes off of a Stoudemire screen on the wing.  Amar’e sets a solid screen, and what makes him so dangerous on the roll is his quickness.  Stoudemire can hit a defender with a screen and quickly roll off of it, leaving no time to switch or hedge on the screen.

Tim Duncan comes to double Steve Nash on the screen (as shown in the first play breakdown).  Stoudemire sets a good enough screen where George Hill can’t get to Nash quick enough, leaving a window for Steve Nash to get a pass through.  The only defensive error that the Spurs commit is Richard Jefferson not rotating quick enough on the roller.  If Duncan is doubling (I am assuming that this way predetermined), than Richardson should know he has help responsibility and get there in time.

Jefferson meets Stoudemire too low in the paint…

…and pays for it. Here it is in real time:

As I mentioned, the Suns used Stoudemire to get back into the game.  It was a two point game where the Suns started making their mistakes.  The Suns actually play very good defense here, getting the steal and the wide open dunk attempt.  You probably know what happens next:

Now this is just a fluky thing that you can’t really do anything about (though maybe he could have dunked it with two hands, but that is nit-picking), but the problem is what happens after.  The Suns don’t foul and actually force the Spurs into a three pointer.  George Hill misses the three, but the Suns are unable to corral the rebound, and they are then forced to foul.

The game isn’t over though.  Steve Nash buries a three, and the Suns then foul Manu Ginobili down 1 with 3.2 seconds left.  Ginobili makes both free throws and the Suns now have 3 seconds to get a three point shot off.

This play actually has potential.  The Suns are able to get the ball into Steve Nash on a part of the court that gives him room to catch and run all in the same motion, saving valuable time.

Nash avoids Ginobili along the sideline (I actually thought Manu would foul here), and continue down the court.

Nash rises up to shoot a three, but he does something that you don’t usually see out of Steve Nash.  He makes a mental mistake.  Nash sees Channing Frye and wants to get him the open three in better position, but there are two problems.  The first being that Frye floats in front of the three point line.  The second is that there simply isn’t enough time for the pass to be made and for a shot to be taken.

Channing Frye makes the catch as time expires, and here it is in real time:

It is a shame to see the game end this way for the Suns.  They fought so hard to get back into the game and make it a one possession game, that I feel like they almost deserved to get a game-tying shot attempt off.  Two mistakes late from the Suns prevented that from happening.