GAME THREAD: NBA: PHOENIX (17-7) at SAN ANTONIO (18-5)

NBA: PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">NBA PHOENIX 87
SAN ANTONIO 88 3:02 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">NBA PHOENIX 94
SAN ANTONIO 93 0:39 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">NBA PHOENIX 100
SAN ANTONIO 95 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
PHOENIX 26 25 23 26 100
SAN ANTONIO 20 30 17 28 95 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: PHO - GRANT HILL 22, LEANDRO BARBOSA 18, AMARE
STOUDEMIRE 17
SAS - TIM DUNCAN 36, MANU GINOBILI 18, MICHAEL
FINLEY 15</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NBA
PHOENIX 100
SAN ANTONIO 95 FINAL</div>

 

By Brian Guerra
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) - Despite a monster night from Tim Duncan,the Phoenix Suns handed the San Antonio Spurs their first homeloss of the season, 100-95, Monday night at the AT&T Center.

Duncan nearly had a double-double in the first quarter alone,with 10 points and eight rebounds. He finished with 36 pointsand 17 rebounds.


Grant Hill led the Suns with 22 points. Leandro Barbosa andAmare Stoudemire combined to score 14 points in the fourthquarter and finished with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Steve Nash was held scoreless in the first half on 0-for-3shooting. His first field goal came with 8:34 left in the thirdquarter, and he finished with 10 points and 10 assists.

The Spurs trailed after the third quarter, 74-67, but startedthe fourth quarter on a 10-2 run. They briefly took the lead,77-76, after a Duncan offensive rebound and layup with 9:19remaining.


The teams then started exchanging the lead. Manu Ginobili, whofinished with 18 points, hit a 3-pointer with 4:34 left in thegame that gave the Spurs an 86-85 lead.


Duncan hit two free throws with under two minutes left that tiedthe game at 90-90, but Steve Nash found Stoudemire for an easy,powerful one-handed dunk on the next possession.


Michael Finley, who finished with 15 points, hit a 3-pointerwith 1:17 to go that gave the Spurs a 93-92 lead, and Stoudemirecommitted an offensive foul trying to set a screen for Nash.

The Spurs committed a turnover, though, and Hill hit a 14-footjumpshot that gave the Suns a one-point lead with 39.8 secondsremaining.


Bruce Bowen missed a 3-pointer in the corner that would havegiven the Spurs the advantage, and Phoenix left with a win.

Without Tony Parker in the lineup for the third straight game,the Spurs needed Duncan's effort to even stay close, as the restof the starters combined to score 33 points. San Antonio is 1-2without Parker in the lineup.


Duncan had a seemingly easy layup to end the third quarter, butcame up short. It was that kind of night for the Spurs, who arenow 13-1 at home.

 

NBA: PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NBA
PHOENIX 100
SAN ANTONIO 95 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PHOENIX (100) AT SAN ANTONIO (95)

PHOENIX

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

G HILL F 31:52 8-12 6-6 0 7 7 3 4 0 3 22
S MARION F 34:19 4-7 0-0 1 5 6 1 4 2 1 9
A STOUDEMIRE C 32:12 6-9 5-8 2 4 6 1 5 1 2 17
R BELL G 35:10 2-8 4-4 1 1 2 2 1 2 0 9
S NASH G 33:38 3-8 3-4 0 8 8 10 0 0 3 10
B DIAW 29:40 5-11 1-2 2 3 5 6 2 1 1 11
L BARBOSA 30:30 6-19 3-3 0 2 2 1 1 2 0 18
B SKINNER 12:39 2-3 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 4
E PIATKOWSKI DNP - COACH'S DECISION
M BANKS DNP - COACH'S DECISION
S MARKS DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 36-77 22-27 6 32 38 24 18 8 10 100
(.468) (.815) TEAM REBS: 2 TOTAL TO: 10 (13 PTS)

SAN ANTONIO

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

B BOWEN F 34:51 0-4 0-0 1 4 5 3 5 2 2 0
T DUNCAN F 36:13 15-25 6-8 6 11 17 3 1 0 2 36
F OBERTO C 19:46 2-5 0-0 1 4 5 0 3 0 1 4
M FINLEY G 39:35 6-13 1-1 0 6 6 3 3 0 2 15
J VAUGHN G 35:08 7-10 0-0 0 2 2 4 3 0 3 14
E GINOBILI 32:26 6-19 5-6 1 3 4 5 4 0 2 18
R HORRY 13:05 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 0 1 1 0 0
B BARRY 22:49 2-6 0-0 3 3 6 5 2 0 1 5
M BONNER 6:07 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 3

TOTALS 240:00 39-85 12-15 13 36 49 23 25 3 14 95
(.459) (.800) TEAM REBS: 6 TOTAL TO: 14 (18 PTS)

PHOENIX 26 25 23 26 - 100
SAN ANTONIO 20 30 17 28 - 95

BLOCKED SHOTS: PHOENIX - G HILL 3, A STOUDEMIRE 3, B SKINNER, S MARION.
SAN ANTONIO - B BARRY, T DUNCAN, E GINOBILI.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: PHOENIX 6-18 (.333), S MARION 1-2, R BELL 1-6, S NASH 1-
2, B DIAW 0-1, L BARBOSA 3-7. SAN ANTONIO 5-23 (.217), B BOWEN 0-2,
M FINLEY 2-7, E GINOBILI 1-6, R HORRY 0-1, B BARRY 1-5, M BONNER 1-
2.
TECHNICAL FOULS: PHOENIX - DEFENSIVE THREE. SAN ANTONIO - R HORRY, B
BOWEN.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DAVID JONES, ERIC LEWIS, JACK NIES.
A - 18,797. T - 2:17.</div>

 

NBA: PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">PHOENIX (100)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
G Hill 31:52 8-12 6-6 0-7 3 4 22
S Marion 34:19 4-7 0-0 1-6 1 4 9
A Stoudemire 32:12 6-9 5-8 2-6 1 5 17
R Bell 35:10 2-8 4-4 1-2 2 1 9
S Nash 33:38 3-8 3-4 0-8 10 0 10
B Diaw 29:40 5-11 1-2 2-5 6 2 11
L Barbosa 30:30 6-19 3-3 0-2 1 1 18
B Skinner 12:39 2-3 0-0 0-2 0 1 4
E Piatkowski DNP - COACH'S DECISION
M Banks DNP - COACH'S DECISION
S Marks DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 36-77 22-27 6-38 24 18 100
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.468, FT-.815. 3-Point Goals:
6-18, .333 (S Marion 1-2, R Bell 1-6, S Nash
1-2, B Diaw 0-1, L Barbosa 3-7). Team
Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots:8 (G Hill 3, A
Stoudemire 3, B Skinner, S Marion).
Turnovers:10 (G Hill 3, S Nash 3, A
Stoudemire 2, S Marion, B Diaw). Steals: 8 (S
Marion 2, R Bell 2, L Barbosa 2, B Diaw, A
Stoudemire).


SAN ANTONIO (95)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Bowen 34:51 0-4 0-0 1-5 3 5 0
T Duncan 36:13 15-25 6-8 6-17 3 1 36
F Oberto 19:46 2-5 0-0 1-5 0 3 4
M Finley 39:35 6-13 1-1 0-6 3 3 15
J Vaughn 35:08 7-10 0-0 0-2 4 3 14
E Ginobili 32:26 6-19 5-6 1-4 5 4 18
R Horry 13:05 0-1 0-0 1-4 0 1 0
B Barry 22:49 2-6 0-0 3-6 5 2 5
M Bonner 6:07 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 39-85 12-15 13-49 23 25 95
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.459, FT-.800. 3-Point Goals:
5-23, .217 (B Bowen 0-2, M Finley 2-7, E
Ginobili 1-6, R Horry 0-1, B Barry 1-5, M
Bonner 1-2). Team Rebounds: 6. Blocked
Shots:3 (B Barry, T Duncan, E Ginobili).
Turnovers:14 (J Vaughn 3, B Bowen 2, T Duncan
2, E Ginobili 2, M Finley 2, B Barry, F
Oberto, M Bonner). Steals: 3 (B Bowen 2, R
Horry).

--------------------------------------------
PHOENIX 26 25 23 26 - 100
SAN ANTONIO 20 30 17 28 - 95
--------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: Phoenix - 1 (Defensive
Three, 6:39 2nd). San Antonio - 2 (R Horry,
6:04 3rd; B Bowen, 12:00 3rd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 18,797. T: 2:17.
Officials: David Jones, Eric Lewis, Jack Nies.</div>

 

By Brian Guerra
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) - Despite a monster performance from TimDuncan, the Phoenix Suns handed the San Antonio Spurs theirfirst home loss of the season, 100-95, Monday night at the AT&TCenter.


Duncan nearly had a double-double in the first quarter alone,with 10 points and eight rebounds. His 36 points and 17 reboundswere both season-highs.


"He got going, and we tried to start throwing some differentlooks at him. He's the best. He's great," Phoenix forward GrantHill said. "We came out tonight and didn't play greatbasketball, but we were consistent. We weathered their offensivesurges and played good defense. They're a great team, and wewere just able to prevail there at the end."


Grant Hill led the Suns with 22 points. Leandro Barbosa andAmare Stoudemire combined to score 14 points in the fourthquarter and finished with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

It was the first meeting between the two teams since San Antonioeliminated the Suns in the Western Conference Semifinals lastseason. As the game became nip-and-tuck late, Stoudemire saidthe crowd and energy gave the game a playoff feel.

"It was definitely fun to play the last two minutes. It was highintensity, and a playoff atmosphere," Stoudemire said. "Andwhen you get playoff atmosphere game in December, you know it'sfun to play."


Steve Nash was held scoreless in the first half on 0-for-3shooting. His first field goal came with 8:34 left in the thirdquarter, and he finished with 10 points and 10 assists.

The Spurs trailed after the third quarter, 74-67, but startedthe fourth quarter on a 10-2 run. They briefly took the lead,77-76, after a Duncan offensive rebound and layup with 9:19remaining.


The teams see-sawed for 23 lead changes, 12 in the fourthquarter. Manu Ginobili, who finished with 18 points, hit a3-pointer with 4:34 left in the game that gave the Spurs an86-85 lead.


Duncan hit two free throws with under two minutes left that tiedthe game at 90-90, but Steve Nash found Stoudemire for an easy,powerful one-handed dunk on the next possession.


Michael Finley, who finished with 15 points, hit a 3-pointerwith 1:17 to go that gave the Spurs a 93-92 lead, and Stoudemirecommitted an offensive foul trying to set a screen for Nash.

The Spurs committed a turnover, though, and Hill hit a 14-footjumpshot that gave the Suns a one-point lead with 39.8 secondsremaining.


"Tonight, we closed the game out," Suns forward Shawn Marionsaid. "It was a tight score the entire night. We knew the Spurswould make a run at us late in the fourth, but we just kept ourcomposure and won the game."


Bruce Bowen missed a 3-pointer in the corner that would havegiven the Spurs the advantage, and Phoenix left with a win.

"It felt good, that last shot," Bowen said. "It's a shot that Iwould take again, every time."


Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that wasn't the designed play.

"We ran it for Manu to go to the basket and try to find Timmy.Grant Hill did a good job of cutting Manu off, and you have tohit the guy who's open," Popovich said. "I would have liked ifBruce would have pumped that and drove it, but in the heat ofbattle, you have an open three, you take it."


Without Tony Parker in the lineup for the third straight game,the Spurs needed Duncan's effort to even stay close, as the restof the starters combined to score 33 points. San Antonio is 1-2without Parker in the lineup.


"Of course we miss Tony Parker. He's one of our best players,"Duncan said. "We miss him offensively and for the way he attacksand breaks people down. You never know how having him out thereand having those things available to us would have changedthings tonight."


Duncan had a seemingly easy layup to end the third quarter, butcame up short. It was that kind of night for the Spurs, who arenow 13-1 at home.


"I thought it was a good win for us. We scrapped it out," Nashsaid. "It wasn't necessarily pretty for us, but we did the job."