Here's how the relatively minor melee went down: With less than a minute to go in the period, Watson began swatting away Frye's hand while the Suns big-man was attempting a pick. Frye proceeded to shove the Pacers guard in retaliation, and then may have taken a couple weak swings at both Indiana's Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert, who were coming to the aid of their teammate. Jason Richardson also got involved to a certain degree, posturing a little bit and exchanging angry words with Hibbert. Meanwhile, Alvin Gentry came onto the court to try to settle things down, but not before making sure no other Suns players left the bench.
When the dust cleared, referees began dishing out the technical fouls. Besides issuing a pair to Frye and thus booting him from the game automatically, officials also hit the trio of Granger, Hibbert, and Richardson with T's. For the remainder of the game, Granger also became Public Enemy Number One, getting heavily booed by the US Airways Center crowd whenever he came in contact with the ball.
Suns fans had been relatively silent to that point, as their team was having some trouble handling the Pacers, one of the worst teams in the East. The Suns started out the game with some piss-poor scoring, going five for 15 in the opening quarter. Their shooting drastically improved to 52.6 percent by halftime, allowing a six-point lead at the break. This trend continued in the second half via the offensive efforts of Amar'e Stoudemire (who scored 30 points for the third game in a row) and Jason Richardson (who contributed 22 points during the game).
NBA officials are expected to lay a one-game suspension on Frye sometime today, which means the backup center will be sitting out Friday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers at home. He will be missed, especially since his three-point marksmanship could prove the difference between a victory or defeat against El Lay.
Phoenix has a four more days off until the Lakers cruise into town on Friday, a break that might do Steve Nash a world of good. The Suns captain is reportedly still dealing with major back issues but will undoubtedly work his way through the pain while battling Kobe Bryant and company.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. TV: KUTP My45 HD. Radio: KTAR 620-AM. More info: www.suns.com.
