With five minutes left in the season, the Suns fans made known their stance about the night and perhaps the franchise’s future.

Naturally and emphatically, a “We want Steve” chant spread through US Airways Center like lightning Wednesday night. It could prove to be Steve Nash’s final game as a Suns player if he is not re-signed as a free agent in July, and Planet Orange was not going to let him walk out the north tunnel one last time without their embrace.

The “We want Steve” chant broke out and grew in volume until the crowd was standing. A timeout stopped it and Nash did not return but the chant did. After sitting Nash out so long, Suns coach Alvin Gentry did not plan on playing him any longer but substituted him for a curtain call of 27 seconds, just long enough for him to dribble upcourt with a smile, make a turnover and leave with an index finger raised in acknowledgment to a thunderous ovation like the one that started the night when his turn came up during starting introductions.

via Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic