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In Progress: Suns Go For Sixth Straight Win Vs. Spurs
San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Tim Duncan scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, as the San Antonio Spurs held on for a 113-110 win over the Phoenix Suns at AT&T Center.
Manu Ginobili added 21 points, eight assists and six boards off the bench, while Richard Jefferson finished with 20 points for San Antonio, which had dropped three of four coming into the contest, including a 109-104 setback at Houston on Friday. Tony Parker added 16 points and Antonio McDyess went for 12 points and nine boards in the win.
Amare Stoudemire finished with a season-high 41 points to go along with 12 rebounds for the Suns, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Jason Richardson ended with 20 points, but missed a game-tying dunk in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Steve Nash donated 18 points and 11 assists in defeat.
San Antonio held a 77-76 lead after three quarters, then got jumpers from Duncan and McDyess to put the Spurs in front 102-94 with 3:04 to play.
However, Stoudemire’s three-point play and layup sandwiched around a pair of Ginobili free throws cut the Suns’ deficit to 107-105 with 1:17 remaining. Phoenix then had a golden opportunity to tie the game as George Hill’s turnover led to a breakaway for Jason Richardson, but he missed the dunk and Ginobili made two more from the stripe for a four-point Spurs lead with 13.4 seconds to play.
Following another Stoudemire basket, Hill drained two free throws to make it a 111-107 game with 8.9 ticks left. Nash then nailed a long three-pointer, but Ginobili was fouled in the backcourt on the inbounds pass and made both from the line. Phoenix was forced to go the length of the floor with no timeouts remaining and were unable to get off a final shot.
Phoenix led 25-21 after the opening 12 minutes and both teams exchanged the lead several times in the second quarter. Stoudemire’s three-pointer from the left side just beat the halftime buzzer to give the Suns a 52-49 edge heading into the locker room.
In a back-and-forth third quarter, Ginobili gave San Antonio a five-point lead, 67-62, at the midway point, but Phoenix quickly came back to go back in front and the contest remained on the see-saw throughout the stanza. Despite a Stoudemire dunk in the closing seconds, the Spurs held a slim 77-76 advantage after three.
The Spurs have won four of the last five matchups versus Phoenix...San Antonio shot 50.6 percent from the floor, but made only 4-of-14 from three-point range...The Suns made 51.2 of theirs shots and 8-of-15 from beyond the arc.
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