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The writing, as they say, is on the wall. Or in the Suns’ case, on Amaré Stoudemire’s right shoulder blade which sports the phrase, “I shall rise.” The All-Star center’s optimistic tattoo is a sentiment the entire Suns squad will have to take to heart as they look to reload for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals Tuesday night. Lots of Phoenix Suns Tickets. "No excuses,” said Jimmy Jackson about his team’s performance. “Pick your poison. Double team Tim and he kicks it out, and they’ve got great three-point shooters. It was the little plays. A second shot, not getting back in transition. Those things are what beat us.”

Phoenix may have furthered its franchise record scoring streak with yet another 100-point playoff performance, but that had no luck in shutting down San Antonio’s relentless offensive attack, as Phoenix dropped Game 1 to the Spurs Sunday, 121-114. Between Tim Duncan shaking off the effects of a bad ankle to the tune of 28 points and 15 boards, and backup Brent Barry catching fire from the perimeter, a Spurs’ 43-point fourth quarter ultimately sunk the Suns.

“We didn't do the things to win the basketball game,” Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni added. “It always comes down to about five or six plays that I just didn't think we competed hard enough on. You are not going to beat a team like San Antonio unless you do. That's why they call you champion. When they put that on you that means heart and brains, and how hard you can do it for 48 minutes. We will regroup on Tuesday and we'll get it done. It's going to be hopefully a long series and you know, we have some growing up to do and we'll adjust. But it will come down to making big plays and stops and heart.”

Even though Stoudemire came up big with a game-high and career playoff-high 41 points, the most obvious omission from the Suns’ shooting arsenal Sunday was Shawn Marion’s offense. Averaging over 22 points in the postseason, the Matrix didn’t hit his first field goal in the game until the third quarter. The forward finished the afternoon with only three points in just six attempts from the field.

“This just happens sometimes,” Marion said. “This is basketball. Some nights you just can’t get (them), but at the same time, you have to go and reassert yourself sometimes. That’s part of the game. I want to help my team, but at the same time I have to get involved in the offense for us to beat these guys. I know that and they know that. We have to work out something and go do it.”

Individual statistics aside, J-Jax was quick to point out that 114 points is usually enough to win ballgames, but even that is no guarantee when defensive lapses let the other team constantly light up the scoreboard. “If you look at the score, we scored enough points,” Jackson said. “It was defense where we fell short. Let’s not get it confused. It was defensively where we lost the game, not offensively.” Improving their record to 6-0 when scoring over 100 points this postseason, the Spurs allowed the opposition to break the century mark for just the third time in the playoffs. “We want to play games in the 90s and the 80s, but when opportunities are there, we're going to take the shots,” Duncan said. “I thought we did a great job of mixing the tempos, playing controlled at times and when the opportunity was there to do it we pushed it back out. “(Today was) not a game that we usually play but if the shots are there, we have got guys that will take them and make them. Opportunities were there where we were moving the ball. We weren’t forcing things and that’s the kind of ball we want to play.” While it was a minor victory for the Suns to post over 100 points versus the league’s top-ranked defense, Spurs forward Robert Horry says he wasn’t surprised by the Pacific Division Champion’s ability to score almost at will. “That’s the Suns,” Horry explained. “That’s how they’ve been all year. We were just lucky to outscore them. We made shots. That was the thing. We were aggressive in our offense and made shots. That puts the pressure on them. “We had a great first half. We kept their scoring down, and then all of a sudden, they came out of the gate in the third quarter and they just started scoring. Luckily we started scoring also.” NBA MVP Steve Nash once again went on a tear, dropping 29 points and 13 assists. Even though there is still a long way to go in the Conference Finals, he says the Suns will need to rely on what got them the regular season’s league-best record. “Obviously we really want to win the next game,” Nash explained, “but our team is a young team that, you know, is learning some lessons and improving as we go. I think it's just very important for us to keep trying to improve. If we do that we're going to win more games than we're going to lose because we have got a lot of talent and resilience. I am looking for those two things to be key factors in Game 2.” As for Stoudemire, the 22-year-old spelled it out in terms of what the Suns need most to reverse their fortunes in Tuesday's Game 2 – “D.” “We’re normally a team that goes on a fourth quarter run, so we have to step it up defensively,” STAT said. “We have to play 100 percent in the fourth, especially defensively. We tried to stop guys so much, so hard to the point were we left open shooters to step up. We have to do a much better job of locking guys down in the fourth quarter. That’s when it all lays out. We want to go to the Finals, so every game is a Game 7. We need to bring our 'A' game.”