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Suns Prove FAITH Works in Basketball Too
By Coach Randy Brown

There was something strange in the air yesterday. It was one of those days where the wind was just right and a sense of karma filled the air. The Phoenix Suns ended this day in perfect fashion by miraculously stealing Game 4 from the San Antonio Spurs.

Earlier in the day I had been watching a DVD by Kansas coach Bill Self. During his talk he mentioned some of his previous coaching stops. While at Oral Roberts he described a team that began the season 1-3 before finding the magic to win a dozen games in a row. He had no explanation for the instant success other than citing Oral Roberts' famous saying, "Expect a miracle." Later that night I felt that the Suns must have also been expecting something to happen to them too.

Heading into game 4, the Spurs are 55-2 in the Tim Duncan era in playoff games in which they lead by 11 or more in the fourth quarters. The 11 point lead seemed enough Monday night to make this statistical record 56-2. Enter Steve Nash and company!

Was it a miracle or was it the grit and never-say-die attitude of the Suns? The Spurs lead 97-92 with 2:23 to play on a rebound basket by Duncan, the last Spur field goal of the game. An incredible left handed behind the back bounce pass from Nash to Amare Stoudemire lit the Suns fire. This Maravich-like play gave the Suns the lead for good, with 32 seconds to go.

Frustration got the best of San Antonio's Robert Horry as he hockey-checked Nash out of bounds with 16 seconds to go. Free throws, replays and tempers dominated the end of the game. The 12-1 game-closing run by the Suns gave them an incredible 104-98 win.

Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and Shawn Marion lead the Suns to a win that only faith could produce. Yes, these are very talented players, the best in the world. But down the stretch, San Antonio missed every shot as every Phoenix shot went in. Those situations in sports, as in life, require every measure of faith one can conjure up. One this night, Phoenix proved that faith works in basketball too.