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Suns slam Spurs to even series

Phoenix Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Janet Jones, watch the Phoenix Suns play the San Antonio Spurs at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

Steve Nash, playing with a half dozen stitches in his nose, had 20 points and 16 assists as Phoenix rallied from a series opening loss to post a 101-81 win over San Antonio on Tuesday.

Raja Bell added 18 points for Phoenix, which opened each period with decisive runs to set the tone for the game en route to its largest margin of victory in a playoff game in franchise history.

"We kept the pace up," said Nash, who wore a bandage to protect the stitches. "In the first quarter the tempo was not in our favor and we were missing shots. But we knew that if we could start making some shots then that would give us momentum."

Phoenix suffered a 111-106 defeat in Sunday's opener of the second round National Basketball Association series. The key moment came with 2:53 remaining, when Nash and Spurs guard Tony Parker of France collided.

Parker stayed on the floor for a moment and ended up with a bump on his forehead.

Nash had a gash across the bridge of his nose that didn't initially prevent him from playing but would not stop bleeding despite treatment at nearly every break in the game.

But on Tuesday, Nash put on a virtuoso performance, setting up his teammates for easy shots and igniting Phoenix's patented fast break.

Nash was also inspired by a visit from National Hockey League legend and fellow Canadian Wayne Gretzky, who attended the game with his wife, Janet.

"I can't explain how fortunate I've been in my career," Nash said. "My hero when I was growing up, Wayne Gretzky, came to watch me play and that is something I can't put into words. It is so wonderful."

Thanks to the generosity from the two-time NBA MVP Nash, newly minted starter Kurt Thomas scored 12 points on six-of-seven shooting from the field.

"Everyone did their job and played hard," Nash said.

Thomas' main duties were to put a big body on Spurs superstar Tim Duncan, who collected 29 points and 11 rebounds and shot 12-of-20 from the field.

But the All-Star forward was short-circuited by foul trouble, picking up his fourth with 2:56 left in the third quarter on Amare Stoudemire's quick drive to the hoop.

Known for his ferocious finishes, Stoudemire did not dunk the ball once in Game 1, but snapped out of his funk to slam the ball home five times on Tuesday.

He was in fine form in the second half, turning quickly as soon as he received passes to make defiant swoops to the basket.

Many of his points came off fancy feeds from reserve forward Boris Diaw, who collected six points, five assists and seven rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. Leandro Barbosa added 13 points for Phoenix, which shot 53 percent (40-of-76).

Parker and Bruce Bowen scored 13 points apiece for San Antonio, which will host Game 3 on Saturday.

LeBron James scored 36 points and handed out a playoff career-high 12 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers posted a 102-92 win over the New Jersey Nets in Game 2 of the NBA quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Sasha Pavlovic scored a playoff career-high 17 points and Drew Gooden added 10 and 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who lead the series 2-0 and are two victories away from advancing to the semi-finals for the first time since 1992.

Cleveland has also won six straight playoff games for the first time in its history and also has won 10 straight games dating to April 12.

"It's definitely a joy knowing when it comes down to the fourth quarter, we have a great opportunity to win the ballgame," James said.

After Jason Kidd drilled a three-pointer to give New Jersey a 81-78 lead with 8:37 remaining, the Cavaliers went on a 13-4 run over the next 4:13, capped by a dunk by Gooden.

James started the burst with a three-pointer and finished it with a quick pass in the lane to Gooden for the slam and a 91-85 lead.

Vince Carter made a 17-foot jumper with 2:40 left to cut the deficit to 93-89, but the Cavaliers ended the contest by outscoring New Jersey, 9-3.

James became just the second player in NBA history to begin his playoff career with 20-plus points in his first 20 playoff games.

Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 27 consecutive games of at least 20 points to begin his postseason career.

It's the second time in franchise history the Cavaliers have taken a 2-0 lead in a series.

The previous time also was against New Jersey -- in 1992 -- before winning the best-of-five series in four games.

"We just used the momentum from winning our last four games of the regular season, clinching the No. 2 seed, to take the streak to here," Gooden said.

Carter had his second consecutive poor shooting game for the Nets, scoring 26 points on just 10-of-26 from the field. The eight-time All-Star shot seven-of-23 in Game 1.

Larry Hughes scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds and reserve Anderson Varejao grabbed nine boards, including six offensive rebounds for Cleveland, which shot 45 percent (38-of-85) and crushed New Jersey on the glass, 49-32.

Looking to rebound after a poor offensive showing in Game 1, the Nets raced to a 28-24 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Mikki Moore each made three baskets as New Jersey shot 61 percent in the period.

The 28 points were the most either team had scored in the first five quarters of this series.
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