Robin Lopez of the Phoenix Suns has been suspended one game without pay for improper conduct towards a game official, it was announced by Stu Jackson.

The incident, in which Lopez made contact with an official, occurred with 8:14 remaining in the second quarter of the Suns’ 99-96 loss to the Toronto Raptors at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Ariz. on Jan. 24.

Lopez will serve his suspension Friday when the Suns visit the Portland Trail Blazers.

Lon Babby said Tuesday night the Suns would not offer Robin Lopez a contract extension, making him a restricted free agent at season's end.

"We reached out to (Lopez's agent) Arn Tellem and let him know that we were willing to engage in discussions to see if there was any common ground that might make sense," Babby said. "Their preference was to wait and see how things unfolded. We're perfectly fine with that.
 
"We just wanted to make sure we made the appropriate overture. Everything was completely amicable."

The Suns have until Wednesday to come to a contract extension with Robin Lopez but that appears unlikely.

Lopez would then become a restricted free agent on July 1, meaning the Suns still could match any other team's offer sheet to him.

Lon Babby said he has had several discussions with Lopez's agent, Arn Tellem, to inquire about an extension.

"We have talked to see if there was any common ground worth pursuing and I'd say it's unlikely at this time," Babby said. "It's been a completely amicable process. There really isn't any basis for doing a deal and we'll look at it again in the summer."

Marcin Gortat has benefitted from playing alongside Steve Nash.

"I know where to put myself in the position to score," Gortat said. "Having Steve going to the bucket every time hard, then I'm going to be open or the other way around, and I'm going to draw attention on my roll. That's a pretty good combination. I like that."

Gortat has averaged 17.0 points and 11.2 rebounds over his last nine games, while leading the league in shooting percentage at 59.9 percent.

"Some of them know I can play, but they still defend me the way they always defended me," Gortat said. "They still treat me like an Orlando backup. That's fine. At the end of the day, I'm going to smile."

The Magic have not ruled out making a run to trade for Steve Nash in the event the Suns decide to put him on the market, according to sources.

Nash is eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season.

Orlando is committed to playing out the remainder of the 11-12 season with Dwight Howard, according to sources.

Steve Nash said Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has faced nothing but upheaval during his tenure.

“He’s in a tough position,’’ Nash said after his brilliant 26-point, 11-assist performance Wednesday night, capped by hitting six straight free throws in the final 16 seconds. “Things have constantly changed. Now he has all these new pieces, he doesn’t have the point guard he wanted. Maybe Baron [Davis] can help but to me, it’s been a constant transition, constant waiting game.

“Waiting for the Melo trade to happen, waiting for Tyson [Chandler] to guard the interior, now waiting for Baron to get healthy. That’s tough not to have that balance of the roster.”

The Knicks plan to target Steve Nash, along with Jameer Nelson and Raymond Felton, with this summer’s $5 million mid-level exception.

“You’ve got a guy by the name of Steve Nash who’s orchestrating the offense,’’ Amar'e Stoudemire said. “Things seem to run a little smoother when he’s got control of the ball. But we’ll get there.’’

The Suns are taking nearly as many 3-point attempts this season but are not getting the transition 3s they like to take when they catch defenses scrambling to retreat, undermanned and unbalanced.

"The tempo has to change," said Suns coach Alvin Gentry, whose team is averaging about four fewer possessions per game compared with last season. "We haven't got as many transition 3s as I'd like. We've got to get that back. That's where JD (Jared Dudley) has been really good and that's where Grant (Hill) has been good shooting the corner one. We've got to get teams on their heels. Our defense has improved to where we're top 10. If we're rebounding the ball, there should be opportunities to run."

The Suns shot 37.7 percent from 3-point range last season to rank fourth in the NBA and that was their worst clip in seven years. The Suns are shooting 32.6 percent this season to rank 17th.

Last season, Suns forward Jared Dudley estimated that the team spent about 30 percent of practice on defense, whereas this season, the Suns focus at least 60 percent of an individual practice session on defensive strategies.

“I think we’re spending more time than we did in the past,” Steve Nash said. “But I also think we’re a little more detailed-oriented. We know exactly what’s expected of us and the players are doing a good job.”

Suns assistant Elston Turner has worked with Alvin Gentry to simplify their defensive schemes.

“We’re running just one pick-and-roll coverage and covering the post one certain way,” Dudley said. “Before, when you had three or four ways of covering, you’d get mixed up on the coverages.”

The simplification of strategies has kept everyone on the same page and increased the accountability amongst the players.

“Because of that we can pick out right away who is in the right spot in the rotation and who is not,” Gentry said. “It lets us and all the players know who’s done their job.”

The Suns rank eighth in the NBA in opponent field-goal percentage (42.3) after finishing 25th in that category last season.

"We've done a good job of containing dribble penetration for the most part," coach Alvin Gentry said. "If you're not rotating in dribble penetration, then you can keep your bigs on their bigs so the rebounding becomes less of a factor. (Assistant coaches) Elston (Turner) and Dan Majerle have done a great job with what we're trying to establish and just the whole atmosphere we're trying to create defensively."