Streak wining game of the Suns on the floor ended Monday's game by Minnesota Timberwolves. The post game locker room was so quiet you could hear a 17-game winning streak drop. This was so different, this feeling of being outscored for the first time since the calendar turned to 2007. And even stranger, they had a hard time blaming themselves for a 121-112 loss at Minnesota that ended one of the league's 10 best unbeaten runs and a nine-win road streak.
Garnett almost single-handedly snapped the Suns' 17-game winning streak, scoring 44 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in Minnesota's 121-112 victory over Phoenix last night.
The all-star forward was everywhere in the final period against the Suns, dropping turnaround jumper after turnaround jumper to give Phoenix its first loss of 2007. He scored 15 points in the fourth, including a looping fallaway from the baseline that gave Minnesota a 118-109 lead with 1:55 to play, and put new coach Randy Wittman on the way to a win in his home debut.
Raja Bell scored 26 points and Victoria's Steve Nash had 20 points and 18 assists for the Suns, who were looking to tie for the fourth-longest win streak in NBA history.
But one night after downing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for No. 17 in a row, the Suns couldn't find an answer for Garnett and uncharacteristically lost their offensive mojo in the fourth quarter.
After scoring 95 points in the first three quarters, Phoenix managed just 19 in the fourth.
Nash had his way with the Wolves' defence for the first three quarters, piling up assists at a near-record pace. But he scored just three points on 1-of-6 shooting and had just one assist in a final period that belonged to Garnett.
The Suns were in deep trouble midway through the fourth thanks to three big shots by Garnett and some dirty work on the boards by Mark Madsen.
Madsen, an offensive liability for most of his seven years in the league, hit a fallaway jumper just outside the lane to cap an 8-0 run, then gave Minnesota a 112-107 lead with 3:38 to play after he scooped up a rebound and laid it in.
Garnett followed with a twisting, turning fadeaway on the baseline that brought the crowd to its feet.
When the final buzzer sounded, Garnett came over to Wittman and stood eye-to-eye with the new coach, shouting encouragement before stomping off the floor. Wittman took over for the fired Dwane Casey last week.
Ricky Davis had 17 points for the Timberwolves, who shot 59 per cent and simply wore the Suns down in the final minutes.
Shawn Marion had 24 points and Leandro Barbosa added 17 points for Phoenix, which entered the night 15-0 in January.
The all-star forward was everywhere in the final period against the Suns, dropping turnaround jumper after turnaround jumper to give Phoenix its first loss of 2007. He scored 15 points in the fourth, including a looping fallaway from the baseline that gave Minnesota a 118-109 lead with 1:55 to play, and put new coach Randy Wittman on the way to a win in his home debut.
Raja Bell scored 26 points and Victoria's Steve Nash had 20 points and 18 assists for the Suns, who were looking to tie for the fourth-longest win streak in NBA history.
But one night after downing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for No. 17 in a row, the Suns couldn't find an answer for Garnett and uncharacteristically lost their offensive mojo in the fourth quarter.
After scoring 95 points in the first three quarters, Phoenix managed just 19 in the fourth.
Nash had his way with the Wolves' defence for the first three quarters, piling up assists at a near-record pace. But he scored just three points on 1-of-6 shooting and had just one assist in a final period that belonged to Garnett.
The Suns were in deep trouble midway through the fourth thanks to three big shots by Garnett and some dirty work on the boards by Mark Madsen.
Madsen, an offensive liability for most of his seven years in the league, hit a fallaway jumper just outside the lane to cap an 8-0 run, then gave Minnesota a 112-107 lead with 3:38 to play after he scooped up a rebound and laid it in.
Garnett followed with a twisting, turning fadeaway on the baseline that brought the crowd to its feet.
When the final buzzer sounded, Garnett came over to Wittman and stood eye-to-eye with the new coach, shouting encouragement before stomping off the floor. Wittman took over for the fired Dwane Casey last week.
Ricky Davis had 17 points for the Timberwolves, who shot 59 per cent and simply wore the Suns down in the final minutes.
Shawn Marion had 24 points and Leandro Barbosa added 17 points for Phoenix, which entered the night 15-0 in January.
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