We've said all along that the way the Suns were going to win this series was with depth and that depth wasn't just about Channing hitting his shots (or not) or how many rebounds Looooooouu grabs.

That depth is about fresh legs vs tried legs late in games -- especially now that the series is on the every-other-day plan.

That's played out as expected in the fourth quarter of the past three games, where the Suns have:

• Outscored the Lakers by 19 points in the 4th quarters of Games 3 thru 5.
  
• Are +2 in OReb and +15 in DReb and, while Game 4 accounts for a big part of that margin, there is still not a single game in this series where the Lakers have out rebounded the Suns in ANY fourth quarter.
• Kobe in the last three games scored 10, 7 and 7, but was 38% and 33% from the field in Games 3 and 5 and in Game 4 almost all his shots came after the Suns had a very late 10 point lead, which, while not quite garbage time, certainly wasn't crunch time either.
• Pau Gasol torched the Suns for 14 points in Game 2, but has only scored a combined 9 points in the 4th quarters of Games 3 thru 5.
• Kobe - 41.8 mpg. Gasol - 40.4 mpg. Amare - 36.6 mpg. Nash - 33.4 mpg.
• There is NO WAY that Nash goes 4 for 5 and hits all those late shots if he has to play the entire 4th quarter or even 10 minutes in stead of 5

You see the trend? We certainly saw it last night when the Suns erased an 18 point lead over the final 16 minutes only to see the Lakers get lucky that Kobe missed the rim entirely on his attempted buzzer beater.

The Lakers were out-working the Suns for most of the game and we much, much more aggressive on the glass but you could visibly see them tired as the game wore on. Those loose balls started going to the Suns and Pau even missed a few shots that he normally makes. That's fatigue setting in and that more than anything is what gives the Suns a chance in a Game 7.

Side note: I am being completely tongue-in-check by using the term "lucky". Of course there's no luck involved. The Lakers beat the Suns last night because they played better for most of the game and built that 18 point lead and because Ron Artest out-worked Jason Richardson in the final second.

Side note #2: If you are going to lose to the Lakers on a buzzer beater, aren't you glad it wasn't Kobe hitting a shot that came after a blown defensive assignment ala Michael Finley's three in 2008? I can live with Ron's shot. Seeing Kobe drain an open look after a blown switch ... that would be painful.

And now some links ...

Finally, Ron Artest makes the headlines for all the right reasons - Silver Screen and Roll
Ron Artest's history, both on and off the court, is checkered at best. No one can deny that he's got a special combination of size and athleticism (emphasis on the former). He's lauded as a terrific defender, and is known for his ability to play well on both sides of the ball. He's won the defensive player of the year award and made the All-Star game once. But he's also Ron f***ing Artest. Ron-Ron. Crazy Pills.

Lakers 103, Suns 101: This One's for Queensbridge - Silver Screen and Roll
the Suns this evening came achingly close to something neither they nor the Lakers have managed in the Western Conference Finals, which is winning a road game. The Lakers still need one more victory either in Phoenix, where they were deeply uncompetitive in Games Three or Four, or back in Staples in a Game Seven. Their ability to do so isn't a given.

Brain On Funk: Lakers vs Suns - Game 5

KTAR.com - Suns fans feel the pain again
We can talk all we want about the missed free throws, the turnovers, and the poor rebounding, but when it was all said and done the Suns still had a great opportunity to steal one on the road. That does lead me to believe that there is still a chance for this team to scratch that 17-year itch and get back to the finals.

KTAR.com - Ash: Wow that hurt!
So Kobe shoots an airball and that's how the Suns lose?

2010 NBA playoffs: Los Angeles Lakers Sasha Vujacic calls out Phoenix Suns' Goran Dragic - ESPN Los Angeles

"My countryman?" Vujacic asked. "Oh, the kid on the other team? I don't think I'm fighting my countryman. I'm playing good defense. You got to exploit the weaknesses of your opponent and I think that if that's Nash, if that's Grant Hill, if that's Barbosa, whoever that is, you got to exploit their weaknesses. He's still young and he's learning so a little bit of pressure helps."

Dragic made the Slovenian national team last summer, the same team that Vujacic tried out for and was cut because of injury.

"He's much younger than I am, I never heard of him when I was back home," Vujacic said. "He's playing in a good team, great offense for him, Doug Collins called him a 'herky-jerky player' so he can't find himself in a better position."

Alvin Gentry's impact with Phoenix Suns a popular topic
Unlike a lot of coaches, Gentry really doesn't pay much attention to what is said or written about him. He's at the point in his career where it just doesn't matter.

Suns' zone defense had help from Dwyane Wade
In the fourth game of the season, Miami had taken a 12-point lead on Phoenix in the third quarter with 11 unanswered points, including six on Wade drives, when Suns coach Alvin Gentry called for a 2-3 zone. The Heat went 10 for 38 from the field the rest of the game, the Suns won and a defensive option was born.

Los Angeles Lakers steal a golden chance from Phoenix Suns in Game 5
"Plays like that are the difference between championship teams and really good teams," Gentry said.

Suns lose heartbreaker to Lakers in Game 5
What is a Suns postseason without heartbreak in the most gut-wrenching, unexpected and quirky of ways?

Phoenix Suns still have hope against Los Angeles Lakers
What is it about that purple and gold court, the A-list celebrities and the collagen-infused fan base that makes the Suns drop a few IQ points?

Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns feel more heartbreak vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 2010 NBA playoffs - ESPN Los Angeles
"You know," Nash said, in a voice more gravelly than usual, "everything's OK. Maybe we deserved this game, maybe we didn't. But we lost. And they held home court. We'll go back and do the same and we'll come back here for Game 7."

Top sports bars to watch the Suns-Lakers playoffs
With so many spots around town to choose from, here's a look at some of the best places to catch Thursday's game, and have a few cheap drinks while you're at it.

Ron Artest: Just Gotta Keep Playing Basketball, Reppin' Queensbridge - SB Nation
The best part of Thursday night's game-winner from Ron Artest wasn't just that he redeemed himself after a truly awful shot about 60 seconds earlier. It wasn't even that his redemption came on an airball rebound, with Ron-Ron careening out of bounds, heaving the ball wildly at the basket (really, that's the only way Ron Artest should ever hit a game-winner.) No, the BEST part was his postgame interview.

KTAR.com - Wolf: Of zones and men
Competition is an aggressive act. Since the beginning, competition pitted one man against another, opposing each other, imposing their will upon the loser. Many times one man was superior to the other.

It’s kind of ironic that one of the Suns’ core defensive strategies is to force Ron Artest to shoot the basketball. It worked when Artest hoisted up a pair of bricks with the Lakers up...

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Nothing demoralizes a team more than second-chance points, and the Phoenix Suns learned that the hardest way possible tonight when Ron Artest snared a Kobe Bryant airball and finished the game winner...

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What else can you call it? The Suns get three attempts before finally tying the game on a banked-in three, only to see Kobe so well defended that he misses so badly that the ball falls to Artest for a redemption put back.

If that's not luck, I don't know what is.

Well, the Suns were a tad bit lucky and awfully resilient to even be in a position to take the game to overtime after being down 18 points in the second half and getting totally out-played for three full quarters.

Lakers 18 to 5 second chance points. Lakers 38 to 26 points in the paint. Lakers 23 points off turnovers. 9 missed Suns free throws. Only 33% from three and many, many, many missed shots, especially from JRich who missed 5 straight before banking in that prayer at the end.

For Phoenix to have held the Lakers to 42% shooting and even been in this game was nothing short of incredible. There is no way the Suns had any business getting to the point of almost stealing this game.

But Steve Nash ... Steve Nash. 9 fourth quarter points. 4 of 5. Clutch shot after clutch shot. What a game.

If you think this loss will demoralize the Phoenix Suns, you don't know the Phoenix Suns.

"We're not going to get discouraged. We're not happy. We're not jovial, but we'll be OK," Coach Gentry joked.

The bench had a horrible first half, but came back with a vengeance and shaved 3 points off the Lakers starters in 6 minutes and 38 seconds of the fourth quarter. That rest allowed the Suns to go on a 16 to 11 run before Ron's put back on the Kobe airball.

There's certainly a lot to be disappointed about for the Suns. They started the game great, with incredible effort and focus on the defensive end, but the ball started sticking and the Suns got away from attacking and as a result the Lakers went from 6 points down at the 3:10 mark of the 1st to up 17 at the 5:25 mark of the 2nd. A 23 point swing resulting mostly from a stagnant offense, as the Lakers energetically denied Nash his primary options off the switching defense.

After a timeout, the Suns started attacking quickly and being more aggressive and were able to cut the lead to 8 at the half.  Out of the break, the same pattern emerged. Tentative play and good Lakers defense gave the home team an 18 point edge only to see the Suns, out of a timeout, refocus and start to turn the tide.

The Lakers simply played harder for a large portion of the game, but down the stretch the minutes caught up with them and I have no doubt the fresher Suns would have prevailed in overtime ... if the Lakers weren't so darn lucky.

If you chose to dwell on missed opportunities: Two wide open threes that Frye missed late. Jason not boxing out Ron on that last shot. Robin's first bad game since returning from injury. Amare's lack of aggression and Jason's poor shooting. There's plenty there.

But not me. If this game had ended like the Game 1 blowout -- and it certainly was headed that way -- I would be disappointed and focused on those things. Instead, I am looking forward to Game 6 on Saturday with the opportunity to play better and then come back for Game 7 where hopefully, finally, the Suns depth will be the difference as the Lakers are unable to sustain their effort on tired legs. That's what I am hoping for.

... and for Kobe to start missing more shots, but the Suns are going to need a little luck for that to happen.

 

I hope the Lakers enjoyed their huge celebration. It says a lot that THAT team felt the need to celebrate that hard after barely winning a game that they were leading by 18 points late in the 3rd quarter.

One thing for sure, the Lakers will KNOW that they played the Phoenix Suns. Regardless of the outcome.

Ron Ron's Redemption - Silver Screen and Roll
21 seconds. That's how much time was left on the shot clock as Ron Artest launched an ill-advised three pointer which drew nothing but iron. The Suns rebounded the ball, and scored a ridiculous off glass 30 foot 3 pointer to tie the score at 101 with 3.5 seconds left. If the LAkers were to have lost this game, Ron Artest would undoubtedly have been the goat. But all that changed in 1.1 seconds. That's how much time remained on the clock when Ron Ron rebounded Kobe Bryant's attempt at a game winner. In almost a frame by frame duplication of Pau Gasol's tip in winner in Oklahoma City, Artest re-wrote his game 5 narrative. We'll have much more on the game in its entirety, but for now, enjoy Ron Ron's redemption.

 

Player (and play) of the Game, Alvin Gentry

 

I don't like the way this is looking. The intensity was there for the first 6 or 8 minutes and then it just fell off. The Suns did manage to close strong and cut to 8 b/c they started shooting quicker.

I can live with and accept JRich missing three's (as much as it sucks b/c he's missed at least 4 wide open looks) but Amare is going to have to show up here. He's just not looking for his shot and is passing up opportunities to attack.

Attack, Amare! Attack!!!!

 

And no more deep fried avocado for Alvin