PHOENIX SUNS

Channing Frye tries to make meaningless game interesting

Apr 12, 2011, 3:47 PM | Updated: 5:13 pm

The Phoenix Suns’ playoff hopes may be gone but that doesn’t mean personal scoring records and team three-point records can’t be broken or at least tied.

Forward Channing Frye injected a little intriguing — emphasis on little — into an otherwise meaningless game against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday by putting up a career high in points and tying the team record for most three pointers in a game. He scored 33 points on 12-for-18 shooting and hit nine three pointers which tied him with former Suns Rex Chapman and Quentin Richardson for the team record.

Despite the big night, Frye downplayed the accomplishments and gave credit to his team.

“I just wanted to be aggressive and just go out there an play,” he said. “It is what it is. Some games I play hard and look like crap and some games I look like tonight. It’s 50-50. Tonight I’m just happy the balls went in. My teammates did a great job of trying to find me.”

While one game doesn’t validate a huge contract, Frye’s body of work this season certainly makes him look closer to deserving $30 million over five-years than he did last summer. Monday was the third time this season that he had 30-points in a game. Overall he’s averaging career high in points 12.6 and rebounds 6.7 a game.

The Suns will need many more performances like Monday night’s from Frye over the next four seasons for him to truly validate the amount of money they invested in him. But it this season was a nice start.

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