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Phoenix heads to Western Conference finals
With Steve Nash leading the way, there's simply no stopping the Phoenix Suns' offense. Not in a game and, perhaps, not in the playoffs. Nash helped erase a 16-point, third-quarter deficit, forced overtime on a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left, then made the 3 that put the Suns ahead for good in a 130-126 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night that puts Phoenix in the Western Conference finals.
Dallas got 36 points from his replacement, Jason Terry, including a tough 3-pointer with 3 seconds left that kept the drama going until the final buzzer. Yet Mavs fans will remember Nash dribbling by Terry for the open shot that tied the game at 111 in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, then Terry getting berated by Dirk Nowitzki after the buzzer for his lousy defense. Nowitzki, who had 28 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, found Nash after the game and shared a brief hug. "They said congratulations and just keep going," Nash said about the postgame hugs from former teammates. The NBA's highest-scoring team in the last decade, the Suns are trying to become the first offense-driven team to win the title since the Showtime-era Los Angeles Lakers. They've already become the first team to go from missing the playoffs one year and making the conference finals the next since Boston and New Jersey in 2002. The last West team to do it was Phoenix in 1989. Drained but proud, the Suns will open the next round Sunday at home against the San Antonio Spurs. They even could have back starting guard Joe Johnson, who has been out since Game 2 of this round with an eye injury. Phoenix has done fine without him, but the wear and tear seemed to be setting in. Suns coach Mike D'Antoni used his bench earlier than ever and for longer stretches. The rest paid off earlier than he expected as his club got into a groove late and pulled out its toughest challenge of the postseason. "We've always had it in us," Nash said. "We just have to stay hungry." In becoming the first team to win consecutive games this series, Phoenix went from scoring 64 points the first 32 minutes to racking up 66 in the final 21 minutes. And the Suns did so with Amare Stoudemire capping a poor game by his standards (18 points, six rebounds) by fouling out with 1:40 left in regulation. Stoudemire had 10 points in the first quarter, then didn't even take a shot in the second. Dallas' defense changed to contain him, but it left open Shawn Marion and he capitalized with a playoff career-best 38 points and 16 rebounds. Jim Jackson scored 16 and Quentin Richardson added 11 points and 13 rebounds. Nowitzki, who finished third to Nash and Shaquille O'Neal in MVP voting, had one of his better games of the playoffs, but it wasn't enough. He slowed his own momentum by getting frustrated at fouls that he thought should've been called, then missed a wild, rushed 3-pointer with about 11 seconds left that would've tied it at 126. Josh Howard provided Dallas with tremendous energy early and finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse scored 19 in a reserve role and much-maligned Erick Dampier rebounded from a basket-less Game 5 to have 13 points and six rebounds. The Mavs already had overcome huge odds by wiping out an 0-2 deficit in the first round and winning a Game 7. They watched a tape of that before this game and responded by leading 80-64 with 4:01 left in the third. But Phoenix tied it at 86 with 9:45 to play and led 95-90 with 6:14 left. Things were only starting to get interesting then. Notes:@ Dallas was 3-4 at home in the playoffs. ... Phoenix never led by more than five. ... The crowd of 20,915 set the franchise record for the fifth time in seven home games this postseason. ... Dallas fell to 3-4 all-time in the playoffs in overtime.
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