Bordow: Suns still confident — but why?

SAN ANTONIO - Until the Phoenix Suns actually, you know, beat the San Antonio Spurs, can we stop all the nonsense we’ve heard the last few weeks?

Suns dominate early, fall apart late in Game 2 loss

SLIDESHOW: View photos of Sun-Spurs Game 2 action

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Like how Phoenix finally had San Antonio’s number after going 3-1 against the Spurs in the regular season.

Or how Shaquille O’Neal was the antidote for Tim Duncan?

And this quote, from coach Mike D’Antoni: “I think we’re the better team. Now we just have to go out and prove it.”

Oh, the Suns have proven something.

They’re still inferior to the Spurs.

And unlike Game 1, when Duncan hit his miracle 3-pointer, Phoenix couldn’t rationalize its 102-96 loss Tuesday.

The fact is, the Suns got whipped by a tougher team.

A smarter team.

A better team.

And all that isn’t going to change just because Games 3 and 4 will be played at US Airways Center.

“We still feel confident,” Amaré Stoudemire said. “We still believe we can do this thing.”

They may be the only ones who feel that way.

The fact is, the Suns aren’t much different with O’Neal than they were Shawn Marion.

If their shots are falling, they can beat anybody.

But if the shots stop falling and they have to rely on their defense?

Well, I guess I’d have to ask: What defense?

Phoenix shot 61.4 percent in the first half Tuesday and had a 61-54 halftime lead.

It was fool’s gold.

“You probably aren’t going to shoot 60 percent all the time,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

The man knows his basketball.

The Suns were 3-for-18 in the third quarter.

The score after three: San Antonio 81, Phoenix 72.

That’s what happens when your success is predicated almost solely on offense. The Spurs, on the other hand, win games with their defense.

Which is why they have four more championships than the Suns.

“Obviously the third quarter did us in,” D’Antoni said. “We didn’t look good. We looked like we panicked.”

Panicked?

You know what that says about the Suns?

They’re still not championship material.

The Spurs didn’t panic when they trailed by 16 in Game 1 or 14 on Tuesday. They dug in, fought harder and put the clamps on the Suns.

One example: Stoudemire had 25 points in the first half on 11-of-14 shooting. He looked like he would go for 50.

In the second half, he made 2 of his 11 shots and scored eight points.

The Suns, on the other hand, did nothing to slow down Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili. who combined for 61 points.

And now we know the truth.

The Suns miss Marion more than they’ll ever admit.

O’Neal is doing everything he can. He had 19 points and 14 rebounds and held Duncan to 18 points on 8-of-20 shooting. But Steve Nash can’t keep Parker out of the lane, Raja Bell is helpless against Ginobili and O’Neal isn’t quick enough to compensate for the porous perimeter defense.

The result: San Antonio had an incredible 128 points in the paint the first two games.

“It’s not an easy task,” said Grant Hill, who didn’t score a point in 19 labored minutes.

“If it were easy, everybody would do it.”

OK, but is it too much to ask for Phoenix to stop one of the big three, instead of watching Duncan, Parker and Ginobili combine for 51 of San Antonio’s 54 first-half points?

The Suns tried to maintain a positive vibe in their locker room. But the words that rang true after Game 1 sounded hollow Tuesday.

“We still feel confident going home,” Nash said.

One question:

Why?

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Listen to Scott Bordow every Monday at 2:25 p.m. on The Fan AM 1060 with Bob Kemp.