Diaw's Big Night Sparks Suns
Guard Scores 34 Points, Including Game-Winner, in West Opener
Steve Nash (27 points, 16 assists) slips past the Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki (25 points, 19 rebounds) during Phoenix's win Wednesday.
(By Smiley N. Pool -- Associated Press)
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Friday, May 26, 2006
DALLAS -- Steve Nash was done distributing.
Even though he had set up three straight baskets and was nearing his career playoff high in assists, the Phoenix Suns were losing by nine points -- and time was running out in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
So the two-time MVP took things into his own hands.
Nash scored 10 straight points, fed Shawn Marion for a go-ahead dunk then wound up being somewhat of a decoy on the deciding play, a turnaround jumper by Boris Diaw with a half-second left that helped give the Suns a 121-118 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
"For much of the second half, I was trying to facilitate our other guys and take mismatches into the post," Nash said. "Our guys were playing great down there, so I really wanted to let them go for it.
"But it was important to make some shots and be aggressive. So, I guess, in a way, I tried to be a little more aggressive."
The former Dallas star finished with 27 points and 16 assists, the most by anyone this postseason and one shy of his most ever in the playoffs.
More importantly, the Suns claimed home-court advantage and showed that for all the changes they've made since last year's playoffs, they can still use and inside-outside combination to beat the Mavericks -- even if that inside role is now being filled by Diaw instead of the injured Amare Stoudemire.
Diaw scored a career-high 34 points, capped by his seven-foot turnaround jumper after faking defender Jerry Stackhouse out of position.
"It was a heck of a shot," Stackhouse said.
The Mavericks led 114-105 with 3 minutes 43 seconds left when Nash got rolling, hitting a pair of three-pointers, a layup and two free throws. After a dunk by Marion put the Suns ahead, the Mavericks went up by a point with 4.8 seconds left on a jumper by Devin Harris, who set a career high of his own with 30 points.
As the Suns set up for an inbounds pass, Nash realized Dallas was ready for the play they'd called. Nash was going to call timeout, but instead let Tim Thomas throw the ball to Diaw to see what he could do.
