2. A Playoff Career High
Entering the 2010 NBA Playoffs, the Suns had surged to a 54-28 record and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Nobody really saw it coming, but the aging Suns emerged as one of the best teams in the league and looked poised to give Steve Nash one last playoff run.
But some people have quickly forgotten that the Suns were in dire straits long before Ron Artest’s buzzer-beater dropped in. Because when an up-and-coming Portland Trail Blazers team came into US Airways Center and stole Game 1 on the road, it suddenly looked like the Suns might be more vulnerable than everyone thought.
The Suns were able to even the series at home in Game 2, but heading into Game 3 at the Rose Garden — a historically tough environment to play as the road team — Phoenix needed a great game to avoid losing momentum. Luckily for the Suns, Jason Richardson was ready to supply one.
With a playoff career high of 42 points in 37 minutes, J-Rich led the Suns to a convincing 19-point victory in Portland, snatching home-court advantage right back. Richardson went 13-of-19 from the floor, drilled eight of his 12 three-pointers and also chipped in eight rebounds and three steals.
The Suns went on to win the series in six games and sweep the San Antonio Spurs in the next round to advance to the Western Conference Finals. J-Rich’s lingering playoff memory with the Suns may always be that missed boxout in the conference finals, but Phoenix would never have gotten that far without him, and that trend started in the first round.
Next: No. 1