The Suns' brutal late-game losses, collected and set to sad music

I touched on this briefly on Monday, in discussing DeMarcus Cousins' game-winning bucket (and subsequent theorizing on how unstoppable God's plan is — the Phoenix Suns have had a brutal run of luck in late-game situations this season. There have been 15 buzzer-beating, game-winning shots in the NBA this season, according to Andrew Joseph of azcentral.com. Jeff Hornacek's club has been on the receiving end of four of them — one by Blake Griffin, one by Khris Middleton, one by James Harden and, now, one by Boogie — plus several other tough losses — that have turned what could have been a fairly comfortable position in the Western Conference playoff race into a knockdown, drag-out fight for the eighth and final postseason spot. (As it stands, Phoenix sits 1 1/2 games up on both the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder, who seem to be turning it on.)

[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]

Now, as Hornacek, his players and others have said, a lot more has gone into Phoenix's losses than mere unlucky bounces, and there's still plenty of season left, with ample space and opportunity for all sorts of outcomes in that race for the No. 8 spot. Should Phoenix wind up missing out on the playoffs for the fifth straight year, though, we'll instantly refer to those last-second losses ... which is why it's handy for us that an enterprising Internet denizen (and hey, if you're the one who did it, let me know) collected 'em all in one heartrending package, soundtracked by Johnny Cash's haunting cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."

Avert your eyes and ears, Suns fans, and cover your hearts:

The Suns will look to exact vengeance for one of those deflating daggers on Tuesday night, when they welcome All-Star and league-leading scorer James Harden and the Houston Rockets to U.S. Airways Center. They'll have some reinforcements in the battle, as starting guard Eric Bledsoe will return from a trip to Alabama to attend the birth of his second son.

Hat-tip to r/NBA.

More NBA coverage:

- - - - - - -

Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @YourManDevine

Stay connected with Ball Don't Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, "Like" BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.

from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1KEHqny