Don't Mess with Texas. Seriously...

When Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash suit up and play in front of their thousands of fans, its as if they’re playing on a slanted driveway on a hot summer day. A hoop hanging over the garage and two best friends playing one-on-one. Scratching and clawing for rebounds, driving hard and fouling harder. Yelling and taunting up and down the blazing concrete. A winner and a loser, but no love lost. A rivalry based not on hate, but respect. It may never be Bird and Magic, but its close - and its what that the L needs again. Two men who act like men and who play like men. Two great players. Two fierce competitors. Two MVPS.

As for the teams, they’re almost perfect equals. Boasting both inside and outside talent, Stoudemire, Nash, and Marion might as well be Nowitzki, Terry, and Howard. While the Suns run a quicker offense, the Mavs counter with a superior defense. In a game like this, all that matters is whose specialty falters first and whose bench shows up to play. With the Mavs deadheading to 70 wins and boasting the probable MVP, it seems like they have to do less and less for the same result… wins.

Unlike the Mavs, the Suns had gone 4-4 since the emotional rollercoaster and all out war with Dallas that left them spent. San Antonio had crept within two games and the Suns final 10 game schedule rivaled that of Germany near the end of World War II. It seemed as if the Suns had won their championship that March night in Dallas and were content with stumbling through the rest of the season, making a quick stop in the playoffs and then getting some much needed rest by starting the off-season early. After 38 years of a disappointing end to the season, the Suns had squandered what might have been their best shot at winning a title since Chuck and KJ.

Then the Suns did the unthinkable. They played their best game in years and sent Dallas packing for the second time in 18 days. This time, the game wasn’t a war or a dogfight. They weren’t left wounded in victory. Instead, the Suns broke the Dirty Dallas D in inspiring fashion, shooting 65% and winning by 22 points. Their big home victory was coupled with even better news, the Spurs fell to a plummeting Indiana team on a last second lay-up. A punishing blow that ended a 6 game streak that had them hot on Phoenix’s heels.

Breathing room.

Now the Suns have the confidence to know that they can bring that same game to the court any night of the year. They don’t have to worry about meeting up with Dallas in the playoffs anymore; instead, they can just say, “Bring it.” While it might have been better for Phoenix’s record to lose earlier this month in Dallas, nothing can take away the attitude going into the last string of regular season games. Now they need a two seed and an easy first round. Its still a tough road facing seven Western playoff teams in their final nine games, but they're Phoenix and even two time MVP Steve Nash knows that its all about the name on the front. Screw the name on the back. Keep your eyes on the prize.

9 games to go. The NBA… Brian Scalabrine makes 3 million dollars!