The second year guard from Slovenia absolutely destroyed the Spurs in the second half of Game 3. He scored 26 points in 17 minutes, hitting 10-of-13 shots from the field, including 5-for-5 from long range. He entered the game with 2:02 remaining in the third quarter with the Suns trailing by three. Check out his work in the final two periods:
1:05 Goran Dragic makes 25-foot three point jumper
END OF THIRD QUARTER
11:21 Goran Dragic makes layup
10:40 Goran Dragic makes 6-foot jumper
8:37 Goran Dragic makes layup
8:04 Goran Dragic makes 24-foot three point jumper
6:56 Goran Dragic makes 24-foot three point jumper
6:56 Goran Dragic makes free throw 1 of 1
6:16 Goran Dragic makes layup
4:33 Goran Dragic makes 25-foot three point jumper
4:07 Goran Dragic makes layup
0:05 Goran Dragic makes 26-foot three point jumper
During that 14-minute span, the Suns went from trailing by three to winning 110-96. It was an incredible performance that was clearly the difference in the game.
It’s funny — Channing Frye and Jared Dudley keyed the Suns’ win in Game 2, and it was Dragic, along with Leandro Barbosa (7 points in the 4th quarter) that keyed Phoenix’s win in Game 3. Moreover, the Suns trailed by 18 early in the game, so in total, this was a 32-point turnaround.
What has to kill the Spurs is that they actually owned Dragic’s draft rights, and traded him on draft night to the Suns for Malik Hairston, a future second round pick and cash. I wonder if they want a do-over on that one.
But back to the Suns — they are for real. Grant Hill said that this team has the best chemistry of any team he’s ever played on and they were able to win Game 3 in San Antonio playing mostly reserves during the turning point in the game.
No team has ever come back to win a series after trailing 0-3 and I don’t expect the Spurs to do it this year. It would take a major implosion for the Suns to lose this series, and they’re looking like a very live dog in a potential Conference Finals matchup with the Lakers.
