Have you been following the heated Spurs vs. Suns series? In game 4, the series hit a high note when Robert Horry (San Antonio Spurs) floored Steve Nash. If they were playing hockey that would have been a good clean hit. But, it’s basketball.

Amare Stoudemire, the Phoenix Suns All-Star Center, ran off the bench to aid in the scuffle. While nothing much happened, the NBA suspended him for leaving the bench, because rules are rules.

The NBA also suspended Robert Horry for two games and Boris Diaw for one game.

If you watched last night’s Game 2 between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns, you saw an NBA team in the Suns and a team in the Spurs that looked like they didn’t belong in the playoffs.

The Suns seemed to run the same type of offense over and over and over, yet the Spurs couldn’t stop them. Meanwhile, they compounded problems by shooting up pointless 3’s when no one was in position to get a rebound.

Let me just say—and I’m not a Spurs fan by any means—the officiating left something to be desired. I’m not one to expect the refs to catch every single foul, but last night’s officiating was sub par.

Game one of the Western Conference semi-finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns went to the Spurs.

The Spurs won because Steve Nash wasn’t in the game. With a couple minutes to go, Nash collided with Tony Parker. While Parker went down—later got back up—Nash appeared okay—then the blood came.

Nash split his nose open and while he tried to stay in the game, he was eventually forced out. He came in briefly and hit an important 3-pointer, but eventually he was out. They couldn’t stop the blood.

The Dallas Mavericks are looking to close out the Western Conference Finals tonight when they take on the Suns in Phoenix. Dallas leads the series 3-2. In game five, the Mavs were able to regain control of the game flow and they won by a landslide. Looking at the trends of this series, the Suns should come out on top and force a game seven.

Game five of the Western Conference Finals went to Dallas. The game ended up being a blow out, but it was closer than the score shows. The game did not get out of hand until the closing minutes of the forth quarter. In fact, Phoenix led by 7 at one point in the second half. Dallas pulled out the game, because they were able to regain control of the pace late in the second half.

Tonight the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks meet in Dallas to break the series tie, which stands at two games apiece. In game four, the Phoenix Suns controlled the tempo of the game and the Dallas Mavericks simply looked stunned. It was not a high scoring affair per se, but it was definitely an increase in pace. Phoenix ended up blowing out Dallas by twenty, 106-86. The fact that Dallas only scored 86 is a little suspect, because Phoenix does not have a rock solid defense. The game was in Phoenix and the Mavs may have been a little off—or perhaps resting.

The Suns did exactly what I talked about yesterday, the increased the tempo of the game. As a result, the Mavs simply could not keep up. In the 4th quarter, the Mavs had no choice but to increase their play, which played right into the Suns’ hands. As a result, the lead widened. The Mavs were really never in this game. They managed to close some to end the first half, but the writing was on the wall. To win they must slow down the pace and make the Suns play their game.

Tonight in Phoenix game 4 of the Western Conference championship is going down. The Suns are looking to get their offense back in gear. Their offense, which was brilliant all season long, has been sputtering of late. In game three, the Suns managed just 88 points of offense and that was not good enough. Now, they are in a hole 2-1 to Dallas who smells blood.