San Antonio – Amare Stoudemire was tired of hearing how Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs were using their experience to teach the young Phoenix Suns a lesson in playoff basketball. So he showed how much he has learned.
With a tremendous block of a dunk attempt by Duncan, two tough layups, two clutch rebounds and a steal – all in the final 1:28 – Stoudemire prodded the Suns to a 111-106 victory Monday night that prevented them from being swept in the Western Conference finals.
“Unbelievable,” Phoenix guard Steve Nash said. “Even as a teammate, you were just in awe. He was all over the place. He made spectacular plays.”
The most spectacular was going above the rim and rejecting Duncan with 36 seconds left and San Antonio down by three. The Spurs did get within one twice in the closing minutes, but Stoudemire answered both times with driving layups set up by Nash.
“I stepped up,” said Stoudemire, who scored 11 of his 31 points in the final quarter.
All the victory guarantees is that the Suns will be flying home for Game 5 on Wednesday night instead starting the offseason. No one is calling this the start of a Boston Red Sox-esque comeback, but it does provide hope for the team that had the league’s best record, even if no team in NBA history has rallied from an 0-3 deficit.
“I think we can go home and win another one,” said Phoenix guard Joe Johnson, who was 10-of-15 for 26 points in his second game back from an eye injury that’s forced him to wear a protective mask.
Johnson was a big help on defense by pestering Duncan on double-teams. The two-time MVP scored just 15 points, only four in the second half, and played so passively at times coach Gregg Popovich was yelling at him to be tougher during a fourth-quarter timeout. He responded to that chewing out with a dunk.
Duncan was a wretched 3-for-12 from the free-throw line. He went 15-of-15 in Game 3 and was 33-of-36 for the series, but was so off this time he missed the front rim in the fourth quarter, drawing gasps from the home crowd.
“Just a tough night all around – from the field, from the line, just everything,” Duncan said.
San Antonio lost for the first time since Game 4 of the previous round, ending a five-game winning streak. The Spurs lost at home for the sixth time in 49 games, and must wait at least two more days before clinching a trip back to the NBA Finals.
“We are sad; we are angry,” said Manu Ginobili, who led the Spurs with 28 points. “But this series continues and we are in great shape. The goal is to go to the Finals, not to sweep them.”
Even if Phoenix doesn’t make it all the back, this performance guarantees the Suns of having at least one good memory of the conference finals.
No, make that a great one.
Just like coach Mike D’Antoni had been telling them the past few days, all they had to do was work out a few kinks.
It started with them leading after one quarter, 26-23, something they hadn’t done in nine games.
They also got their fast break going again, running for 26 of their first 87 points.
They also got 11 points from Shawn Marion, including several in transition and a 3-pointer that capped a game-changing 15-2 run that put Phoenix up by 12, its biggest lead of the series.
