What is wrong with the Phoenix Suns? These guys simply can't hold big leads. For what seems like the 20th game in a row, the Suns jumped out to sizable advantage before watching that advantage evaporate. This time, it was to the Pacers, a far-inferior team, on the road in Indianapolis' half-empty Conseco Fieldhouse. Final score: 122-114.
After Nash went down with a busted lip in the first quarter in a play in which he attempted to take a charge from Earl Watson, there didn't seem to be a need to panic. The Suns had cruised out to 14-point lead, and Nash's replacement, Goran Dragic, was playing well (he would eventually score 11 points in 21 minutes off the bench). When word came from the locker room that Nash was getting stitches in both his lower and upper lips, did anyone think Nash would have to hurry back into the lineup to help preserve the lead? Turns out ever-gutty Nash would return to the game after halftime and score 20 points and hand out nine assists in 27 minutes.