Suns rise in final minute of Game 4

May 15, 2007, 4:55 GMT

San Antonio, TX - Steve Nash used a pair of behind-the-back passes to feed Amare Stoudemire for two baskets in the final minute, as the Suns rallied to beat San Antonio, 104-98, in an ugly finish to even their Western Conference semifinal series after four games.

Nash scored 24 points and dished out 15 assists, but also had eight turnovers, as Phoenix came back from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter and used a 12-1 run to end the game.

Stoudemire, who had called the Spurs a dirty team earlier in this series, saw Nash knocked to the floor by a forearm from Robert Horry with 18.2 seconds left. Horry was ejected for a flagrant foul call, and players from both teams had to be coaxed to remain on their respective sides.

'I was just trying to escape between him and the boards and he got me with a nice hip check,' Nash said. 'When can I say, it was a pretty nice check.'

Stoudemire had 26 points and nine rebounds, while Shawn Marion ended with 12 points and 12 boards for the Suns.

Tony Parker scored 23 and Tim Duncan ended with 21 and 11 rebounds in a losing cause, as the Spurs missed their final six shots while the Suns made their last five from the field.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Phoenix.

A Duncan layup with 2:22 left extended San Antonio's lead to 97-92, but Nash came back with a jumper. Manu Ginobili then missed a wild bank shot and Raja Bell fed Marion for a jam with 1:31 left.

Duncan missed a turnaround shot, and Nash then drove the left baseline and fed the ball behind his back to Stoudemire in the lane for a successful right- handed shot to give the Suns a 98-97 edge with 53 seconds remaining for their first lead since it was 38-37 in the second quarter.

Michael Finley was off the mark on a jumper for the Spurs, and Nash then delivered another behind-the-back pass to Stoudemire, this one in the lane, and Stoudemire rose over Duncan to score with 32.5 seconds to go.

'Steve did a great job of having offense awareness and knowing where he was on the court and where the defense was,' Stoudemire said. 'He found me a couple of times there down the stretch and I just had to be aggressive and finish.'

Ginobili missed a driving layup, and Nash dribbled up the court before he was knocked to the ground near the scorers' table by a left forearm from Horry. Bell was also whistled for a technical foul for pushing Horry.

'I knew he was going to foul me,' Nash said. 'I just didn't know it was going to be that variety. I was a little surprised.'

It also appeared Stoudemire, who was not playing at the time in favor of Kurt Thomas, may have come off the bench during the incident, which would warrant an automatic one-game suspension. Horry could also be suspended.

After the game, Stoudemire maintained he only left the bench to check into the game.

'I didn't really see exactly what happened totally,' Stoudemire said. 'I was just trying to check in on the foul because it was so important there down the stretch where we needed to get me back in the game. That's when it all happened.'

It was the latest in a series of ugly play and talk between the teams. In Game 1, Nash collided with Parker, leaving the two-time league MVP with a bloody nose. Then in Game 3, Bruce Bowen kneed Nash in the groin, and in that same contest on Saturday night, Ginobili was left with a bloodied and bruised eye after being inadvertently poked by Marion. Stoudemire also said Bowen purposely kicked him in the Suns' Game 2 win.

'At what point is enough, enough, and at what point are you supposed to take offense,' Nash said. 'The league has made it very difficult nowadays to stand up for yourself. It's their job, but at the same time their opinion doesn't always coincide with yours.'

Finley made one free throw, and Nash then went 1-of-2 at the line before the Suns got the ball back ahead, 101-98.. Nash again spilt two free throws with 16.1 seconds left and Finley missed a three before Marion sealed the victory with a pair of foul shots..

'They were very aggressive. They got to the bucket easier during that period than they did earlier in the game,' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his team's collapse in the fourth. 'They just played very well, very aggressively down the stretch.'

Thomas ended with 14 points, while Bell had 12 and Leandro Barbosa 10 for Phoenix, which held a 42-32 advantage on the glass.

Finley had 17 points, Brent Barry 12 and Ginobili 10 for San Antonio.

A three-pointer by Nash extended the Suns to an early 9-3 lead and the margin stood at 20-12 after a pair of free throws from Stoudemire with 3:45 left in the opening quarter. However, the Spurs trimmed their deficit to 24-22 going into the second.

Ginobili's three-point play had San Antonio in front 31-28 and the home team widened the advantage to 45-40 at the intermission.

It looked as if the Spurs would turn on the jets and run away in the third, building a 62-52 lead on a Ginobili three with 7:15 left in the period. The cushion reached as high as 11, the last time at 78-67 with 2:16 left on a Barry three, his second in less than a minute. It was 80-72 after 36 minutes.

Barry's jumper moved the lead to 85-75, but the Suns rallied by scoring the next seven points.

Game Notes

Ginobili went 3-of-14 from the floor...Stoudemire made all eight of his free throws.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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