Suns outlast Spurs to win opener
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Steve Nash scored 33 points and added 10 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns past San Antonio 111-102 on Monday in the opener of their best-of-seven NBA Western Conference second-round series.
Jason Richardson scored 27 points and Amare Stoudemire contributed 23 as the Suns fought off a late comebck bid by the Spurs, who were sparked by 27 points from Manu Ginobili and 26 points from Tony Parker in a reserve role.
Tim Duncan had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who will try to avenge the loss and level the series in game two on Wednesday in Phoenix before the scene shifts to San Antonio for games three and four on Friday and Sunday.
San Antonio hit 8-of-9 shots to open the third quarter and a 15-0 run gave the Spurs their first lead of the game at 67-64 on a 3-pointer by Ginobili with 4:37 elapsed in the period. The Suns missed seven shots in a row in the span.
"At times we didn't make them pay when we had our advantages," Nash said.
Phoenix answered with a 12-2 run to reopen an 83-73 lead with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
But the Spurs responded with a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter, pulling within 94-93 on a Ginobili driving layin with 4:30 to play. Phoenix shot 2-of-10 with three turnovers to open the fourth quarter.
"They just made tough shots," Ginobili said. "The way they are playing, the level of confidence they have, you can't blame them. You rest four minutes and fall behind 15 points."
Grant Hill hit two free throws to put the Suns ahead 98-93 with 3:28 remaining. Parker answered with a jumper for the Spurs but Stoudemire snapped a six-minute drought from the field for the Suns in reply.
The Spurs missed their next three shots and Richardson followed the last of them with a 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 103-95 lead with 83 seconds to play, all but sealing San Antonio's fate.
