Diaw's near triple-double helps Suns rout Spurs, avoid sweep

[April 28, 2008]  PHOENIX (AP) -- There was no San Antonio sweep, not even close. Boris Diaw had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in one of the best playoff performances of his career, and the Phoenix Suns stayed alive with a 105-86 rout of the Spurs on Sunday.

Raja Bell scored 21 of his 27 points in a dominant first half to help Phoenix bring a one-sided end to the defending NBA champions' nine-game playoff winning streak. The Suns were 11-0 in the regular season when Bell scored at least 20.

Phoenix still trails the first-round series 3-1, with Game 5 on Tuesday night in San Antonio. No NBA team has come back from 0-3 to win a series.

Steve Nash and Leandro Barbosa scored 15 apiece for the Suns. Shaquille O'Neal had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni drew two technicals and was ejected with 3:38 to play and his team up 104-80.

Diaw, starting in place of injured Grant Hill, also led the Suns' vastly improved defense, guarding his good friend and fellow Frenchman Tony Parker much of the game.

Parker, who scored a career-high 41 in Game 3 and was averaging 33 in the series, led San Antonio with 18 points and Manu Ginobili scored 10.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich threw in the towel by benching both of them along with Tim Duncan late in the third quarter.

After watching the Spurs play to near-perfection in a 115-99 victory on Friday, the Suns were the aggressors from the start on Sunday.

Phoenix led by 21 after one quarter, by as many as 24 in the second and by 30 in the third.

Nash's 15-footer gave the Suns a 79-49 lead with 5:50 left in the third quarter. With Parker and Duncan on the bench, San Antonio cut it to 22 late in the quarter, but it was 93-65 entering the fourth.

Bell shot 6-of-7, 3-for-4 on 3-pointers to lead Phoenix to a 65-43 halftime lead. Diaw scored 10 points in the half.

The Suns never led in Game 3, but built big advantages early in the first two games, only to lose at the end. Their first-quarter start Sunday was their best yet.

Diaw's shot over Ginobili inside made it 11-1, and it was 20-9 after Barbosa's driving layup with 5:41 left in the first. It was 34-13 after one.

San Antonio was 4-for-19 shooting with six turnovers in the first two quarters.

The Spurs cut it to 12 three times in the second quarter, the last at 49-37 on Ginobili's 15-foot bank shot with 4:55 to go. Phoenix, though, scored the next 12 -- six on free throws by Bell -- to go up 61-37 on Diaw's layup with 1:33 left in the half.

Notes: Hill sat after being slowed by a sore right groin in the first three games. ... The 22-point lead was the largest in any playoff game this year. ... San Antonio shot 38 percent in the first half (16-of-42). ... Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim were in the crowd. Krzyzewski is head coach of the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Boeheim and D'Antoni are assistants. ... Phoenix had two turnovers in the first half, while San Antonio had nine.

[Associated Press; By BOB BAUM]

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