It's hard to remember any outcome post -2004 U.S. election that was as discouraging as Steve Nash's Phoenix Suns losing 88-85 last night to San Antonio in Game 5 of their second-round NBA playoff series. Then again, knowing the NBA, it might have been manipulated from on high that the better team should lose Game 5 on their home floor, upping the chance for a Game 7 that would be a relative ratings bonanza.
For three quarters, it looked like Nash and Phoenix, who'd got the series under control with a road win Monday, would somehow find a way to win without two of their best players, Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw, both banished with dodgy suspensions. (Like Neal Pollack put it over at Slate before the game, "Two players have been suspended for standing up to check on their hurt teammate. Unbelievable." Or to quote Bill Simmons: "You get suspended for Game 5 because your instincts as a teammate kicked in for 1.7 seconds.")
However, there are just some things you can't expect a team to do and still win, so like it was ordained (perhaps by David Stern), the Spurs took over in the final minutes.
So score one for dirty play (Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen, et al.), score one for boring basketball instead of the game the Suns and (to a lesser extent) the Raptors play which is much sweeter to watch. Score one for league-approved royal screwjobs. So much for sport.
Anyway, there's probably not much chance the NBA lets this series end in just six games, so the Suns will get every chance to level the series and take it to The Decider. That's just the way the NBA is: Certain elements of it always have that quality of backroom gerrymandering, which makes pro hoops a lot like life.
Thing is, we go to sports for an escape.
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