San Antonio wins Game 1

PHOENIX — A fourth-quarter rally fueled by layups, dunks and 3-pointers is to be expected in a game featuring the Phoenix Suns.

Yet it was the San Antonio Spurs who did it Sunday in the opener of the Western Conference finals.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Brent Barry and the Spurs proved that defense might be their best thing but not their only thing. Beating the league's top offense at their own style, San Antonio used its inside-outside scoring practically to perfection in the final period to beat Phoenix 121-114.

"You got to score points to beat these guys because you are not going to hold them to 82," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.

Popovich came into this series saying his team's scoring ability was underrated, yet there was no choice in the first matchup since 1975 featuring the league's highest-scoring offense (Phoenix's) against the stingiest defense (San Antonio's).

The Spurs began making their case by scoring 30 points in the first quarter and 55 by halftime. Then came their amazing closing argument.

San Antonio hit 16 of 22 shots in the fourth quarter and scored 43 points, its most in any period all season. To really appreciate that total, consider that Phoenix's best quarter all year was 44 — and the Suns scored more points than any team in the past 10 years.

"That's not the kind of quarter that we would expect in a game like this, but we'll take it," said Duncan, who soaked his aching left ankle in a whirlpool at halftime and scored 11 of his 28 in the fourth.

Robert Horry set the tone by hitting a 3-pointer just 14 seconds in. With Duncan and Parker working the lane, San Antonio tied it within minutes and went ahead for good on a jumper by Barry that made it 94-92. He hit consecutive 3-pointers to make it 106-98 with 4:08 remaining.

Playing 1 1/2 days after closing out Dallas in an overtime thriller on the road, the Suns already had turned an 11-point deficit into an 8-point lead in the third quarter. They didn't have another comeback left. The Spurs led by at least six the rest of the way, disappointing the locals who were attending their first conference finals game since 1993.

"We kind of let fatigue affect us mentally," said Phoenix point guard Steve Nash. "We lost our fight for enough stretches to lose the game."

Barry scored 13 of his 21 in the fourth quarter. He made 8-of-12 shots, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers.

"That's what I'm here to do," he said.