I almost gave up. The Suns were down by 11 in the fourth quarter. I was at the point where I had to mute the broadcast because I couldn’t bear to hear the announcers giving praise to the seemingly unbeatable Spurs. I put on music, stuff that sounded kinda soothing (a guy called Benoit Pioulard), and settled into the recesses of the couch, trying to accept that this season was basically about to be over. And then Phoenix started playing desperation defense, and the referees simply stopped calling fouls on them. Shawn Marion or Raja Bell would make a clutch shot, but Brent Barry or Michael Finley would answer on the other end. The Suns continued to fight until they started forcing stops, getting the rebound and converting again, and again, and again. I switched over to If You’re Feeling Sinister by Belle & Sebastian. Still too tense for the broadcast audio.

Then, the ‘Suddenly’ happened. Suddenly, Nash went behind his back and Amare cut down the lane and shot over Duncan, giving the Suns their first lead since the second quarter. Where before in Game 3 I had been hurling expletives to the television in defeat, now I was slinging curses of praise. I lost it and started jumping around, screaming. If they could just get another stop…and then they did - Nash took the ball up the court again, “CMONNNNNNNNN!!!!!” I screamed - Nash went behind the back again and now Phoenix had a comfortable(!!!!) 3 point lead with 30 something seconds in the game. It was now safe to turn the phone back on and call JoMo.

“WE’RE GONNA WIN!!!! WE’RE GONNA F**KING WIN THIS F**KING GAME!!!!!!!!!!”
“I KNOW! I KNOW! I CAN’T TAKE THIS S**T ANYMORE!!!!!!!!”

Timeout Spurs - then they go to Ginobli, he goes down the lane, MISSES!, and we get the rebound. Nash charges up the court and suddenly…

As a Suns fan I started hating Robert Horry when he started out with the Rockets. In both the ‘94 and ‘95 postseasons he destroyed us. Danny Ainge did the same type of stuff to us when he was with the Trailblazers, so in the Finals run in 92-93 we signed him and didn’t have to worry about him torching us again. I think that same reasoning was in place when we got Horry in the Barkley trade. However, Horry treated us like crap, and literally threw a towel in the face of Danny Ainge. The same Ainge that had worked out so well for us he was now our head coach. Less than a week later, Horry was gone, this time to the Lakers, where he ended up helping them to 3 titles, aided in part by his big time clutch shooting earning him the nickname, “Big Shot Rob”. Horry went to the Spurs, helped them to a couple more titles, made even more big shots further perpetuating his reputation, and on Monday night he hip checks Nash into the scorer’s table. Now to Suns fans he is ‘Cheap Shot Rob’.

Horry is out two games. But Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire, who left their seats to come to the aid of Nash (and probably to throw down with Cheap Shot Rob) are out for tonight’s game as well - suspended because the league followed the letter of their stupid law which prevents players from leaving the bench in the middle of an ‘altercation’.

“This is a very unfortunate incident, but the rule is the rule,” Stu Jackson (NBA Vice President) said. “It’s not a matter of fairness. It’s a matter of correctness, and this is the right decision.”

Stu Jackson can go to hell. We’re getting screwed so many different ways on this I’m tired of thinking about it. So now the Suns and Spurs lace up for game 5 tonight in Phoenix. The crowd will be into it, Nash will be pissed, and the team will play with incredible heart. Logic says that they cannot win tonight, and that the league has altered the impact on the series by taking away our greatest asset in Amare, when it was San Antonio’s fault all along.

I am very excited about this game, and am seriously thinking about watching Hoosiers tonight before tip-off at 9:30. Everything seems to be against my team. Even in the afterglow of one of the franchise’s greatest victories, they have been handicapped seemingly beyond hope. This is why I watch, and it’s why I would not be surprised while at the same time be shocked if the Suns managed to win.

Here we go again.