Phoenix Suns Blow 'Super Bowl', Lose to Mavs 122-117

Many Phoenix Suns fans will awaken tomorrow to an emotion many have not felt on Planet Orange in quite some time—hopelessness. The Suns blew their opportunity to make a late-season playoff-push, losing to the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night at the U.S. Airways Center. The Suns started the evening four games behind Dallas for the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference, with 19 games to play. The Suns lost a critical game, which Grant Hill termed their “Super Bowl.” A win would’ve cut Dallas’s lead to three games, with one remaining head-to-head match-up with the Suns.  Instead, the loss meant the Suns are now five games back of Dallas with 18 games to play. Phoenix has a much easier remaining schedule than Dallas, but that hardly matters now, with Dallas’s lead looking even more insurmountable. While still mathematically in contention, it would take nothing short of a miracle for the Suns to reach the playoffs. Down the ... (link)