Barbosa, Suns hold off Mayo and the Grizzlies

Basketball Betting Lines

11/11/2008 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leandro Barbosa scored 27 points off the bench, making rookie O.J. Mayo's scintillating 33-point performance for naught, as Phoenix staved off Memphis, 107-102, at US Airways Center.

Amare Stoudemire scored 18 points with six rebounds, Steve Nash totaled 12 points and six assists and Boris Diaw added 13 points. Shaquille O'Neal donated nine points and five rebounds, while new father Raja Bell collected 10 points for Phoenix, which has won five of its last six games.

Phoenix has won nine straight in the series.

Mayo was aided by Rudy Gay's 20 points and Marc Gasol's 15 points. Gay and Darrell Arthur each grabbed seven rebounds, while the rookie out of Kansas, Arthur, also scored 10 points.

The Grizzlies tied the game at 100-100 on Mayo's layup with 2:12 to play, and Gay's tenacity allowed him to slam home his own wild miss for a two-point edge with 1:30 on the clock.

Barbosa hit the big shot at the big time, planting himself in the left corner and draining a three-pointer for the 103-102 advantage with 43.8 ticks left.

Gasol committed a turnover and Nash made both free throws with 18.6 seconds remaining, and Mayo's last look at a tie was off the mark with approximately six ticks left in regulation.

Nash made two more free throws, and Phoenix slipped out victorious.

The game was tied 19-19 after one stanza and knotted at 44-44 after 24 minutes. Phoenix then made its big move in the third period.

After Mayo's three gave Memphis a 51-50 edge, the Suns embarked on an 18-4 stretch to take a 13-point advantage. Three straight triples by Bell, Diaw and Nash capped the march with 4:33 on the clock.

Diaw's layup moments later extended the lead to 72-57, and Phoenix led 82-70 after three quarters.

Game Notes

Phoenix shot 48.7 percent from the floor, while Memphis made 44.2 percent of its shots...Mayo dished out five assists in defeat...Phoenix has won five straight home games from Memphis...Attendance 18,422.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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