Posted by Royce Young

Each game is made up of elements which help formulate the outcome. Monday through Friday, we'll bring you the elements from the night before's games in our own specialized version of the game recaps. It's not everything that happened, but it's an insight into what lead to the results you'll see in the box scores. This is the Game Changer.

THE BIG ONE: Suns SHINE FROM DEEP

The Suns scored 121 points against the Lakers Sunday night. That part is impressive. More impressive? That 66 of those points came from 3-point range.

Chew on this: Phoenix took 40 3-pointers against the Lakers and hit, wait for it, 22 of them. Before you ask, no it's not an NBA record. That's held by the Magic who hit 23 in 2009. But the 22 is a Phoenix franchise record and it's also dang impressive, so that's something.

Here are the cliffnotes on the shooting show:

• Six players made 3-pointers

• Jason Richardson led the way, hitting 7-10

• Hedo Turkoglu went 5-7, Steve Nash 2-3, Channing Frye 4-9, Goran Dragic 3-5 and Jared Dudley 1-5

• Grant Hill was the only player to attempt a 3 and miss it, going 0-1

• The Suns went 13-19... from the free throw line

• The Suns made 43 baskets, with of course 22 of them being from 3

Not often do you see a team lose a game with 68 points in the paint to their opponents 28. Because that was the difference between the Lakers and Suns. But it doesn't matter how good you shoot it in close when the other guy is hitting the shot that counts for one more point.

But this is the second consecutive loss for the Lakers and a big win to push the Suns to 5-4. No reason to worry for L.A., but the fact that you even gave up 40 looks at 3 is something to raise an eyebrow at. The perimeter defense is lacking at this moment and really, the defense in general. The Nuggets exposed the Lakers on that end Friday night in L.A.'s first loss and then Sunday the Suns dropped 121.

Obviously, Phoenix winning is something for the Suns to be excited about and to build on. But the way they won isn't much to think about. You're not going 22-40 from 3-point range very often. And you're not winning pretty much ever being outscored in the paint by 40 points.

But on Sunday night, the Suns were hot and that Heat from the outside is what they rode to a big win over the Lakers.

GO-GO-GADGET LINES:

Jason Richardson gets the gold star for the night with 35 points including 7-10 from 3. That's some shootin' right there.

Can't overlook Al Horford's big night against the Wolves as the newly paid Hawk went for 28 on 9-14 shooting and pulled in 10 rebounds for good measure.

Just 22 and 17 for Kevin Love against the Hawks Sunday. What's the deal man?

INFORMATION HERE:

Via John Schuhmann: "A team has hit 20 or more threes in a game 5 times (3 by PHX). The previous 4 all won the game by an avg. of 27.3 pts & by no fewer than 18."

DON'T MISS:

•  Matt Moore with a beautiful look at the Miami Heat after 10 games. This section is called "Don't Miss" but seriously, don't miss that.

• Ken Berger with more news on what's happening with Carmelo Anthony in Denver.

• The big guns are coming out for the next CBA meeting.

A GAME SUMMED UP IN DOTS:

Peep the shot chart for the Suns against the Lakers. It's not something you see very often.

SERGE I-SMASH-A:

Follow F&R on Twitter at @CBSSportsNBA and check out our RSS feed . This has been your daily edition of the Game Changer.

Posted by Royce Young

No NBA legend has been as underappreciated, as underrated and as under-covered as Tim Duncan. He's (arguably) the top power forward of all-time, a four-time NBA champion, a three-time NBA Finals MVP and a two-time MVP, yet he's often forgotten and often overlooked. It's doesn't make any sense, but that's the way it is and the way it always will be.

Duncan of course doesn't mind, because his personality, demeanor and style of game is really what dictates that. But I don't think anything sums up Tim Duncan's career and evident impact on the NBA quite like this clip from Jeopardy! recently. Observe:



A Spurs center that's a three-time NBA Finals MVP. Hmm. Now I don't blame the contestants for not knowing because not everyone is a big hoops fan, but the guesses? Tony Parker and Carmelo Anthony. It's just comical/crazy that people so easily forget about a player like Tim Duncan. I have no idea how it happens, but it does. Even I'm guilty of it at times. If I'm listing off the top power forwards in the league I'll go Bosh, Pau Gasol, Josh Smith... eventually going, "Oh crap! Tim Duncan! Duh!"

It's the story of Duncan's career, but just because we don't remember doesn't mean he isn't pure greatness.

Posted by Royce Young

In that new Sports Illustrated article where Gilbert Arenas talks about faking an injury because of potential boos and talks about moving over for John Wall, he mentions something else of note.

He said: “I understand what people think because of the perception of me. They read the funny stuff, like me taking a crap in [teammate] Andray Blatche’s shoes. But nobody is going to ask what Andray did to deserve it."

Is that a dare? Was Arenas daring some reporter to walk into the locker room, look Arenas in the eye and ask, "So what's up with you crapping in Andray Blatche's shoes?" And did he really not think someone would. Because they did. And Truth About It has Arenas' answer.

Pacers shoot 20-21 in third quarter to defeat Nuggets by eleventy billion.
Posted by Matt Moore




And that's how you win a third quarter.

My favorite part of this video is the progressive desperation in the Nuggets' announcer's voice.

"Dunleavey.. that can't go in..." (Swish.)

"Dunleavey... Again!"

"Dunleavey... AGAIN!"

And then the exasperation as McRoberts misses at the end. Seriously. How about being Josh McRoberts on that plane tonight? That's going to be awkward. And funny.

20 makes out of 21 tries. Nice shootin', boys.

Posted by Royce Young

Nike is doing some kind of viral campaign where Kevin Durant's neighbor pseudo-stalks him to the point where now KD has invited the guy over. There has been a number of videos out showing things from Durant taking the trash out, to ordering pizza to training karate style.

The lastest one though shows off one of my favorite things about Durant - that he drives a big GMC van. Now, yes, Durant has other automobiles that are "cooler" than a giant van, but there's just something very Kevin Durant about him driving a small house for a car.

Though it looks like Xzibit got a hold of Durant's wheels for an episode of "Pimp My Ride." Yo dawg I heard you like basketball so we put a basketball INSIDE your van!

Posted by Royce Young

Did you see Dwyane Wade's alley-oop to LeBron over the weekend? Please tell me you did. Well, because I'm a pal, if you didn't, have a look:



Most would call that an "unnecessary, extra pass." I can hear Hubie Brown right now. "See, this here is what you don't want to do. Yes, I agree that it looks good. But this is just not good. You want to make the smart basketball pass. It looks nice, but the goal is to get two points, which Wade could've done on his own."

But it's hard not to love it. It's flashy, it's fun and it's the type of stuff we all imagined when LeBron joined forces with Dwyane Wade.

But LeBron says it's all business and that the Heat aren't showing off. “We’re just an athletic team, just making plays,” James told the Sun Sentinel. “There’s nothing circus about it. Everyone wants to put a ‘Showtime’ or ‘showboating’ on us. Nah, we just made plays. It’s not circus.”

Well here's one vote for making it a total Barnham and Bailey three-ring show. I want the circus LeBron. I want the acrobatics. In fact, the Heat are probably at their best out in the open floor "showing off." With that lineup, they could have the most deadly fast break in basketball. So maybe showboating is a key to playing well. That was sort of another Miami team's philosophy back in the 1980's with the Hurricane football team. Act good, look good, play good. It all runs together a bit. (Except of course the Hurricanes were taunting, not necessarily showboating.)

If LeBron wants to say they aren't playing a little "Showtime," that's fine. You don't have to fess up as long as you keep doing it. Basketball is supposed to be entertainment and the Heat can make it just about as fun as anyone.

Posted by Matt Moore

The Rockets can't win for losing. After hanging with the Spurs and mounting a double-digit comeback, the Rockets had the lead inside a minute against the Spurs. But missed free throws haunted them, as the Spurs forced rookie Ishmael Smith to shoot, he was unable to convert, and even after an offensive rebound by Chuck Hayes, Courtney Lee missed two free throws that would have made the lead three. You give the Spurs an opening, you give Manu Ginobili an opening? He's going to hurt you.




Poo God . Money. The Spurs would go on to win in overtime, knocking the Rockets to 0-5.

The Rockets are now the worst team in the league, having failed to secure a victory before the Pistons, Timberwolves or Raptors. Not exactly the start Daryl Morey envisioned.

The thing on that game-tying Ginobili shot is the behind the back. It's such a flash maneuver, but used for such practical purpose. By going behind his back, he keeps his momentum moving back for the step-back, instead of trying to reverse his momentum. That's why Ginobili is so great at making flash functional. And for the win.

Posted by Royce Young

Former NBA center Chris Dudley lost the Oregon governor's race by a slim margin to incumbent John Kitzhaber this week. It was hard-fought loss in a closely contested race for Dudley, who had previously had no political experience. Still, he came up short to Kitzhaber and I thought this video summed it up the race nicely.