This one hurts a little now, but it might hurt a lot about six weeks from now.
Desperate to keep the momentum going that started with Phoenix's win over the Lakers and continued when eighth-place Dallas lost at Oklahoma City, the Suns played the Magic tough for 43 minutes before (a) the Magic turned up its defensive intensity, (b) Steve Nash's loss of conditioning came back to bite the Suns or (c) a combination of both. Add in the fact that the Suns still can't bear down on defense even for a few precious minutes, and the result was a 111-99 loss that made that ticking clock in Phoenix sound just a little bit louder. This is a heck of a time for a killer trip, which continues Wednesday in Miami with stops in Houston and San Antonio this weekend. There are no easy wins anywhere on the itinerary, so kicking away a good chance at a victory against the Magic can't linger. The Miami crowd will be even louder and nastier to O'Neal -- in his first return to the Heat -- and Dwyane Wade destroyed the Suns in Phoenix earlier this year. But if they leave Florida without a win it will put a lot of pressure on the trip to Texas. The Suns did get Nash back, and that's a positive step. It will be interesting how much gas he'll have in back-to-back games. He did have moments of rust Tuesday (seven turnovers) along with some apparent huffing and puffing late.
Fatigue shouldn't be a problem for O'Neal, who will be pumped to return to Miami and show fans what he can still do when he's not hamstrung by injuries. The two players Miami traded to Phoenix, Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, have already moved on to Toronto and Jermaine O'Neal, who has struggled against the Suns in the past, is in their place.
MAGIC 111, SUNS 99: Looking for a second straight win over a high-echelon team, the Suns had a two-point lead after three quarters but couldn't survive a run of nine straight Orlando points down the stretch. Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu combined for 51 points outside while Dwight Howard had 21 inside and bested Shaquille O'Neal in a battle of the best two centers in Orlando history. O'Neal had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Steve Nash had 20 in his first game back after missing three with a sprained ankle.
