If Steve Nash added the most impressive night yet to his marvelous most-valuable-player season, leading the Phoenix Suns within one victory of the Western Conference finals.
Nash had 34 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists -- his third career triple-double and first in the playoffs -- and the Suns turned on the jets in a fourth-quarter outburst to beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-108 on Wednesday.
"He's a tough little player," said Nash's close friend, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, "we all know that."
PHOTO: AP
Phoenix took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven conference semifinal series, with Game 6 on today in Dallas. Historically, when it's a 2-2 tie, the victor in Game 5 has gone on to win the series 84 percent of the time.
"Nash played like an MVP tonight. We had no answers for him," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "We tried everything humanly possible."
Jim Jackson, the 13-year NBA veteran moved into the starting lineup for the injured Joe Johnson, made seven of eight shots in the fourth quarter for 15 of his 21 points. Amare Stoudemire rebounded from his 15-point performance in Game 4 with 33 points and a career-playoff high 18 rebounds -- 21 points and 12 rebounds in the second half. Shawn Marion added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns.
Nowitzki had 34 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who led 55-48 at the half. Jerry Stackhouse scored 29 points off the bench. Josh Howard added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Terry had 17 points.
But no one on the Mavericks could match the energy and effectiveness of Nash, who came off a 48-point, but losing, effort in Game 4. This time, he scored, and did a lot of everything else, too.
Nash had 22 points in the second half, many over and around towering would-be defenders inside the lane, and reached a triple-double with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
"We can accept Amare getting points in the paint," Stackhouse said. "But Nash getting points in the paint is unacceptable."
The Suns outscored the Mavericks 66-30 in the paint.
Duncan in First Team
San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan earned his eighth consecutive selection to the All-NBA First Team on Wednesday as the league announced its best-of-the-best squads.
Duncan, who averaged 20.3 points per game along with 11.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists, joins Hall of Famers Larry Bird, George Gervin, George Mikan, Bob Pettit and Oscar Robertson as only the fifth player to make the All-NBA First Team in each of his first eight seasons.
Joining Duncan is German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks at forward; center Shaquille O'Neal, who led the Miami Heat to the Eastern Conference crown; and league Most Valuable Player Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and regular-season scoring king Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers at the guard positions.
O'Neal, who was named to his seventh All-NBA First Team, led all players in first-place votes with 122 and in total points at 616 after averaging 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.34 blocks per game. His performance enabled the Heat to record a 17-win improvement over last season.
Nash was voted to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. He averaged 15.5 points per game and a league-best 11.5 assists in sparking the Suns to an NBA-best 62-20 record -- a 33-game turnaround from last season.
Iverson was selected to his third All-NBA First Team after averaging a league-best 30.7 points per game to join Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and George Gervin as the only players in NBA history to capture four or more scoring crowns.
Nowitzki made the All-NBA First Team selection for the first time in his career after twice making the second team. He averaged career highs this season in scoring (26.2), assists (3.1) and blocks (1.53). He was also the only player in the NBA to be ranked in the top 10 in both scoring (fourth) and rebounding (tied for ninth with 9.7 boards).
The All-NBA Second Team consists of Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, 2004 Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett, Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Seattle SuperSonics guard Ray Allen.
The All-NBA Third Team is Phoenix Suns forward Shawn Marion, Houston Rockets forward Tracy McGrady, Detroit Pistons centre Ben Wallace, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas.
The 124-member voting panel of writers and broadcasters throughout the US and Canada consisted of national-media members and members from each of the league's 30 teams who regularly cover the NBA. The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.
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