Diaw shines, Suns stun Mavs in opener of Western Conference finals

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By Paul Levine May 25, 2006, 17:18 GMT

Los Angeles - Even though Boris Diaw wasn't the first option, the Frenchman allowed the Phoenix Suns to draw first blood. Dallas Mavericks player Erick Dampier (R) gores for a shot against Phoenix Suns player Boris Diaw (L) during game one of the Western Conference Finals at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas Wednesday, 24 May 2006. Phoenix Suns won 121-118. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH

Dallas Mavericks player Erick Dampier (R) gores for a shot against Phoenix Suns player Boris Diaw (L) during game one of the Western Conference Finals at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas Wednesday, 24 May 2006. Phoenix Suns won 121-118. EPA/LARRY W. SMITHDiaw hit a seven-foot jumper with five tenths of a second left to cap a sparkling career-high 34-point performance, rallying the visiting Suns to a thrilling 121-118 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in the opener of the Western Conference finals. 'The play wasn't for me, it was a second option,' Diaw confessed. 'We drew up a backdoor play for Steve (Nash) but he wasn't open. So, with seconds going down, I had to take the shot.' Nash had 27 points and 16 assists against his former team, while Shawn Marion finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds for the run-and-gun Suns, who shot a sizzling 55 per cent from the field. 'Boris was amazing, I'm very proud of him,' Nash said. 'He's just getting better and better and he's doing it on the big stage now. It's exciting to see a young guy really want the ball and to be fearless when it counts. Obviously, he had a terrific game and then made a big shot for us.' The Suns snatched the home-court advantage away from Dallas and will be out to pull off another stunning victory in game two Friday night before the best-of-seven series shifts to Phoenix. 'Our job is half done,' Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. 'We wanted to come here and get two. We think we can.' The Suns, however, may be without starting guard Raja Bell, who left the game after dropping to the court in pain with a left calf strain midway through the final quarter. Devin Harris scored a career-high 30 points while German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki collected 26 points and 19 rebounds for Dallas, which blew a nine-point lead down the stretch. The Mavericks lost starting forward Josh Howard with an ankle sprain six minutes into the game. 'The last couple of minutes everything that could have gone wrong went wrong,' Nowitzki said. 'Obviously, it's a tough way to start the series with a loss at home.' Added Nowitzki: 'We knew they were a good team, they never give up, and they showed it again today. Boris was big for them all night. For some reason he's always killing us in the regular season. We have to find a way to slow him down a little bit.' In an up-tempo race to the finish line, the Mavericks led 114-105 with 3:43 left following Harris' three-point play before Nash sparked a 16-4 closing run. The two-time Most Valuable Player scored 10 consecutive points, including a pair of 3-pointers and assisted on Marion's running dunk to put the Suns ahead, 117-116 with 43 ticks to go. Harris hit a 16-foot jumper to put Dallas back in front with 4.8 seconds left. Phoenix called a timeout to set up a play designed for Nash but the alert Mavericks knew what was coming. Instead, Diaw took the inbounds pass from Thomas on the right side of the lane. He pump-faked Jerry Stackhouse, then spun before hitting the game winning basket. 'I saw their bench yelling out what exactly was going to happen,' Nash said. 'I was like, OK, Plan B. I was about to call time out but I thought Boris has played great. If Tim can get it to him, I wouldn't crowd him. He got it inside to him and Boris made a hell of a play.' Dallas had a chance to retake the lead but Marquis Daniels' inbound pass sailed over the head of Nowitzki and out of bounds. The Suns were forced to foul and Thomas made both free throws with two- tenths of a second to seal the stunning victory. 'Tonight we weren't very good,' Mavericks coach Avery Johnson admitted. 'Our defence wasn't very good. Obviously, we scored enough points to win the game, but even though we had the lead we couldn't hold it in the end and we couldn't execute.' © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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