Surprise! Phoenix plays ‘D’

This just in: The Phoenix Suns play defense. That will come as a shock to some people. Like TNT analyst Charles Barkley, who last week asked Steve Nash if the Suns even talk about defense. Yes, Charles, they do. And when the mood strikes them, they can even shut a team down. Phoenix has held Dallas to

less than 100 points in each of the last two games.

The Mavericks shot 41.1 percent from the field in Game 3 and 41.8 percent in Game 4.

If the Suns continue to be so stingy, they might find themselves in the most unlikely of places — the NBA Finals.

“It’s funny how the other team plays bad when we play defense,” coach Mike D’Antoni said.

The Suns’ defense long has been mocked because critics focus on the number of points they allow — 102.8 in the regular season (third worst in the league); 105.6 in the postseason.

But it’s unfair to use that single statistic as the standard because of the Suns’ style. Their running game leads to more possessions — and thus more points — for both themselves and their opponent.

Phoenix gave up a leaguehigh 87.09 field goal attempts per game in the regular season. Denver was next at 82.49.

Let’s assume, conservatively, that Suns opponents scored four points on those extra five possessions. Take those points away, and Phoenix would have allowed 98.8 points per game. That wouldn’t place the Suns among the NBA’s elite, but their defense wouldn’t be an object of ridicule, either.

“You look at our guys and there are six guys with career highs (in points) this season. It’s because of the tempo,” D’Antoni said. “When we play against other teams there are guys who come on the floor and have career games, and they say, ‘Well, they (the Suns) don’t play any defense. This guy had 40 points against them.’

“It’s the same thing. It’s because of the tempo, because of the way we play.”

Another revealing statistic: The Suns tied for 14th in field goal percentage allowed (45.4) in the regular season. Before Kurt Thomas was sidelined, Phoenix’s foes were at 44.0 percent.

By comparison, Detroit Pistons’ opponents shot 45.2 percent.

“We’re not the greatest team, but we’re a top-10 defensive team,” D’Antoni said. “Some nights we’re better than a top-10 defensive team and when we are we’re pretty good.”

The Suns never will be a dominant defensive team as long as they continue to ignore the 24-second clock. It’s just not possible to spend so much energy on offense and have something left to shut down teams on the other end of the court.

“It does make it difficult,” Raja Bell said. “We’re not a 48-minute, grind-it-out defensive team, but we have moments when we’re as good as anybody. Our challenge is to be able to find that more and more.”

The Suns’ energy level is vital because — with Amaré Stoudemire out and Thomas chained to the bench — they’re not built to play defense. If they’re a step slow or hesitant with their double-teams, they can’t rely on a shot blocker to erase their mistakes.

When that happens, they give up 122 points, as they did in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Clippers.

“It’s not easy for us,” Nash said. “We don’t have a lot of size and we don’t have a lot of natural defenders, but having said that we’ve done a tremendous job of coming up with a way to stop people.”

At their best, as they were in Game 4 Tuesday, the Suns swarm around the ball, using their quickness to get into passing lanes and disrupt an offense.

“We can play better defense against you than you can against us,” D’Antoni said.

Now, Dirk Nowitzki isn’t going to go 3-for-13 from the field every night. But the numbers don’t lie: Dallas’ point total has decreased each game this series — 118, 105, 95, 86.

The Suns had better be careful.

They might blow their reputation.