NASH SHINES
By Janelle Kidd
October 22, 2009
The weather outside was cold and dark but inside the Garage, B.C. native Steve Nash was shining on and off the court.
Entering his 14th NBA season, the veteran guard showed fans who packed into GM Place, many sporting his #13, that he still has a lot of game left in him. Nash lead the Phoenix Suns with 14 points and seven assists, and also made time to interact and sign autographs for local fans sitting court-side.
Despite the home team falling 113-93 to the Portland Trail Blazers, Nash and the Phoenix squad entertained the sold out crowd, treating them to a rare chance to see NBA talent up close. The last time GM Place hosted a preseason NBA game was in 2007 when the Suns took on the Seattle Sonics.
Playing their final exhibition game the Suns roster features other notable stars including Grant Hill and Amar’e Stoudemire, who contributed 13 points to the Suns effort Thursday night.
This was the second preseason match up between the Pacific division Suns and the Northwest division Trail Blazers. The Suns took the first game, a 110-104 victory at Memorial Coliseum in Portland on Oct. 14th.
The Portland club, sporting a talented line up including All-Star guard and 2007 NBA Rookie-of-the-Year, Brandon Roy who amassed an impressive 22 points, and former first overall pick, centre Greg Oden, took the lead and stayed ahead throughout.
Phoenix kept it close for most of the game, lead on the offensive end by Nash, who played despite suffering an ankle injury in Tuesday’s 143-127 win over the Sacramento Kings.
The obvious fan favourite had plenty of hometown supporters cheering him on, including Vancouver Canucks players who enjoyed the game from their floor seats. Nash, who hails from Victoria, received huge cheers from the crowd every time he scored, or touch the ball for that matter.
Entering half time the two western conference teams were neck and neck, with the Trail Blazers ahead by only four points.
The Phoenix Suns dance team and gorilla mascot kept the crowd entertained during stoppages in the game. While the half time show featured a scrimmage between Steve Nash Youth Basketball league players from Prince George.
As the Blazers began to pull ahead in the second half, fans continued to cheer on their golden boy who enters the 2009-10 season with the third-highest assist average in the NBA. Last March, Nash reached 13,000 career points and became the 11th NBA player with 13,000 points and 7,000 assists.
The ever humble Nash seemed just as happy to be playing in front of hometown fans as the 19,700 sold out crowd was to host him.