Spurs Leave the Suns in Shambles

San Antonio Heads Home Leading 2-0: Spurs 111, Suns 108

PHOENIX, May 24 -- San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich said he designed the play that put the Spurs ahead for good during the final minutes of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night. But Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said teammate Robert Horry set up the biggest play in San Antonio's 111-108 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

"I don't think the play was designed for that," Ginobili said. "I think Pop is taking credit for something he shouldn't. As I was walking out of the timeout, Robert whispered into my ear and told me he'd be open in the corner. Robert was open, and we all know how good he is in those situations."

Regardless of who drew up the play, Horry's three-pointer with 2 minutes 33 seconds left put the Spurs ahead 103-102, and they never trailed again. After Suns guard Steve Nash's off-balance three-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer in front of a sellout crowd of 18,422 at America West Arena, the Suns were left with an 0-2 deficit after losing the first two games at home.

The Suns, who had the best record during the regular season, face a daunting challenge when the series resumes on Saturday in San Antonio. The Spurs had a league-best 38-3 home record and have beaten the Suns in four of five meetings this season. Only two teams -- the 1969 Los Angeles Lakers and 1994 Houston Rockets -- lost the first two games at home and then recovered to win a best-of-seven series. In fact, only nine teams in NBA playoff history have come back from an 0-2 start, most recently the Lakers in 1994 and the Dallas Mavericks in the first round this season.

"They're a veteran team and they've been there, done that," said Suns center Amare Stoudemire, who scored 37 points and grabbed eight rebounds. "When it comes down to it, they treat every possession like it's extremely important, and they go to their big fella, Tim Duncan, and try to get something good."

When the game was on the line Tuesday, Popovich went to players other than Duncan, who scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half on 9-for-12 shooting. Playing with five fouls during the final 4:04, Duncan scored four points and touched the ball only three times. Ginobili scored 26 points, and point guard Tony Parker had 24 and five assists.

"We've been going to Tim and Manu," Popovich said. "We tried to go back and forth, and Manu is a better free throw shooter than Tim, so we didn't want to keep going to him. Manu had a pretty good rest. We got him on the bench for a while. Once he was in, I thought he was fresh."

With the Spurs trailing 102-100, Ginobili made it look like he was going to take the shot coming out of a timeout. But he threw a pass into the corner for Horry, who was wide open after Suns forward Quentin Richardson sagged into the lane.

"I thought I'd be open," Horry said. "That's just how basketball players are. If the action is on the other side of the court, most guys suck in and try to get the rebound."

After Nash missed a jumper and Duncan grabbed the rebound, Ginobili scored on consecutive possessions to make it 107-102. On the first basket, he cut through two defenders by dribbling around his back and scoring on a reverse layup. After Stoudemire missed a layup, Ginobili drilled a long jumper. He made one of two foul shot attempts with 4.2 seconds to play to put the Spurs ahead by three.

"I just thought it was the best option for me," the left-handed Ginobili said of his reverse layup. "They were very concerned about me using my left hand, so I just went back to my right. It's not the most comfortable for me, but it was what I had to do."

Stoudemire and Nash combined to score 66 of the Suns' 108 points. Phoenix lost despite making 55.7 percent of its shots, including 6 for 12 on three-point attempts. The Suns' problem continues to be their defense -- San Antonio shot 51.2 percent after making 51.7 percent of its shots in Sunday's 121-114 victory. The Spurs jumped to a 26-13 lead in the first quarter, before the Suns rallied to take a 54-53 advantage at halftime.

"Down the stretch, their go-to guys made the plays they needed to make," Richardson said. "We struggled to stop them. We either fouled them or they scored."