Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro
Subject: Suns Report: Blazers defeat Phoenix in road opener
From: f67700241@violet.ccit.arizona.edu (Greg Franklin)
Date: 11 Nov 92 01:54:36 MST
Distribution: world,local
Organization: University of Arizona
Nntp-Posting-User: f67700241

11/9/92
Phoenix Suns (1-0) at Portland Trailblazers (1-0)
FINAL: Blazers 100, Suns 89

SETTING:

I napped through the opening ceremonies and immediately woke up in 
medias res, i.e., the 2nd quarter.  The setting was Portland Memorial 
Coliseum, looking the same as always.

STARTERS (I assume):

Phx: Ceballos, Barkley, West, Majerle, Knight
Por: Kersey, Buck Williams, Duckworth, Drexler, Porter

MAJOR SUBS:

Por: Cliff Robinson, Elie, Strickland
Phx: Chambers, Miller, Ainge

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER:

2nd quarter: 48-48.  The score was only in the high 20s by 3 minutes 
into the 2nd, and Portland was ahead for most of the quarter by 2-8 
points.  It was a typical Phoenix defensive performance against the 
Blazers--missed shots would result in great Blazer fast break 
buckets--but somehow Portland was still kept in range.  Oliver Miller 
got major minutes here.  Frank Johnson (the former Bullet) got time at 
the guard slot.  At about the 4-minute mark, the Suns defense started to 
tighten up, and block shots left and right.  Sir Charles did his share.  
It was a dogfight and the best the Suns played all game.

Halftime: Cliff Robinson led all scorers with 11 points, Porter had 10.  
Barkley only had 8, but he did have several great performances including 
a monster block of a Drexler fast-break layup.  The outcome was very 
much in doubt.

3rd Quarter: 69-67 Suns.  No major strategic decisions I could see, just 
sparring.

4th Quarter: Mario Elie took over with some sharp outside shooting.  The 
Phoenix outside shooting faltered again, and the defense failed to 
control several transition buckets.  Barkley tried to fire up his 
teammates by playing harder, but it didn't work tonight.  The game was 
in the deep freeze with 1 minute left.  I knew because Alex Stivrins 
showed up for his 1 minute (rounded up) of PT.

AFTERMATH:

Portland is a great team, and the only real competitor with Phoenix that 
scares me.  Their starting 5 is as close to the dream team as you can 
get in the NBA, in this age of parity.  I love the way they move up and 
down the court on the fast break; it reminds me of the old Showtime.  
This Mario Elie dude, I never saw him play with Golden State, but he 
looked good.  Strickland also filled in well for Ainge this night--I'm 
not sure if he's an everyday reliable ballplayer.

Yet the Blazers still can be beaten.  Phoenix played with them for 3 and 
a half quarters and only gave in at the end.  Coach Adelman, to put it
gently, doesn't seem to be the master of his players the way Daly or
Riley is.  If it were the playoffs this game would have been played till
the last second.  The Suns shot a little bit better than the Blazers,
but it still wasn't impressive enough to make up for their defensive
lapses.  Maybe the  outcome will be different November 25, when they
meet in Phoenix.

OTHER STRANGE OCCURRENCES:
Nothing special.

QUESTIONS I WANT ANSWERS TO:
Can anyone confirm when KJ will be back?  I heard 2 weeks.

SUNS SCORECARD:

         Saturday, 11/ 7 LA Clippers  at PHOENIX      (6:30 pm)  W 111-105
          Tuesday, 11/10 PHOENIX      at Portland     (7:30 pm)  L  89-100
         Thursday, 11/12 PHOENIX      at Utah         (6:00 pm)
         Saturday, 11/14 PHOENIX      at Minnesota    (5:00 pm)
           Monday, 11/16 Seattle      at PHOENIX      (6:30 pm)
        Wednesday, 11/18 Sacramento   at PHOENIX      (6:30 pm)
         Saturday, 11/21 PHOENIX      at LA Clippers  (7:30 pm)
           Sunday, 11/22 Chicago      at PHOENIX      (6:00 pm)
        Wednesday, 11/25 Portland     at PHOENIX      (6:30 pm)
           Friday, 11/27 Golden State at PHOENIX      (6:30 pm)
         Saturday, 11/28 PHOENIX      at Golden State (7:30 pm)
-- 
Greg "Mockingbird" Franklin      Interviewer: "Sir, how do you spell relief?"
f67700241@ccit.arizona.edu               Dan: "R-O-L-A-I-D-S-E."

"[George Bush is] the most ruthless white man in the history of the planet."
	-- Richard Ben Cramer, author of _What It Takes_
"The President scores much better than Bill Clinton."
	-- Dan, comparing Bush's record of marital infidelity to Clinton's
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