Buck Harvey: Short In Size And In Luck - Hammon As Another Nash

"We'd like to repay the favor," the Phoenix coach had joked before the game.

And then that very thing happened.

A bloody nose wasn't required, nor was an equally messy decision by David Stern. But San Antonio and Phoenix still picked up where May left off.

They played another playoff basketball game, in another second round, and this time overtime seemed unavoidable after drama rare for the WNBA in South Texas. Then a ref stepped in as if there just hadn't been enough controversy lately.

With that, the Phoenix Mercury repaid the favor, just as the coach, Paul Westhead, had hoped. The Mercury had turned everything around, leaving the Silver Stars feeling as the Suns had before, and it came with specific role reversals.

Playing the part of Steve Nash, for example, was San Antonio's Becky Hammon.

It's as if the Spurs and Suns won't go away, and that was true this week in Las Vegas. Then, during Olympic qualifying, Puerto Rico committed a hard foul against a U.S. player, leading to a technical foul, and Amare Stoudemire immediately jumped out of his seat.

An assistant coach and a trainer rushed down the bench to warn players not to go on the court, because FIBA has similar rules to the NBA. As the story goes, Stoudemire assured everyone he had learned his lesson. "I ain't going nowhere," he said.

So that series lives on, and Westhead isn't the only member of the Mercury who carried this theme to San Antonio. "No NBA officials and no Robert Horry," Diana Taurasi joked before the game. "So we should be all right."

click for more details

source : mysanantonio.com