4. Phoenix Suns 104, Milwaukee Bucks 96 – November 8, 2008
The 2008-09 Suns roster was packed with star power, but still trying to adjust to a change in style under head coach Terry Porter, ultimately it would become a season of disappointment.
A detached retina suffered by Stoudemire just after the All-Star break would derail Phoenix’s season, as a record of 46-36 was only good enough for them to finish ninth in a stacked Western Conference.
On this particular occasion in Milwaukee, a Bucks team leaning heavily on the likes of Bogut, Richard Jefferson and Charlie Bell put in a spirited early season performance but came short against Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neal (on a night when he was the game leader with 29 points and 11 rebounds).
For Stoudemire, this was a night which evidenced what made him a little different from many of the league’s other big men at the time. In a game when he struggled from the field and found very little falling his way off of the glass, Stoudemire posted 24 points thanks to shooting 18-20 from the charity stripe. Not only did Stoudemire have the brutish physicality to get to the line, but he had the touch to finish.
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