Spurs-Suns rivalry
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The Spurs-Suns rivalry began in the 1990s when the San Antonio Spurs were led by "The Admiral", David Robinson, and the Phoenix Suns were propelled by a number of players including "Thunder" Dan Majerle, Kevin Johnson, and Tom Chambers. The rivalry continued into the next decade with Tim Duncan leading the Spurs and with the Suns headed by Steve Nash.
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[edit] 1990's
The Spurs and Suns first met in the first round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs. The Suns established a record of 53 wins and 29 losses garnering fourth seed in the Western Conference, while the Spurs, owning a 47-35 record, clinched the fifth seed. However, with their captain, David Robinson, injured the Spurs were shorthanded and the Suns swept this series in three games.
The two teams would meet again the next year in the 1993 Western Conference Semifinals. The Suns had a new look having acquired former Celtic Danny Ainge. They had also traded Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry to the Philadelphia 76ers for Charles Barkley, who was the season's Most Valuable Player. The Suns also compiled a league-best 62-20 record and clinched both the Pacific Division title and the top seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs finished the regular season with a 49-33 record and the fifth seed. The Suns managed to reach the Conference Semifinals by beating the Los Angeles Lakers in a five-game series after having lost the first two games. The Spurs ousted the defending Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers. The semi-final series lasted six games with the Suns prevailing over the Spurs again. The Suns would proceed to win the Western Conference championship and face the Chicago Bulls in the 1993 NBA Finals.
Three years later the two rivals met again. The Spurs finished that year with a record of 59-23, the Midwest Division title, and the second seed in the Western Conference. The Suns, in contrast, just made the playoffs with a 41-41 record and the seventh seed. The Spurs won the first two games at home and won the second of two games at Phoenix, winning the series 3-1. The Spurs would go on to face the Utah Jazz. Their season over, the Suns would trade Barkley to the Houston Rockets for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant, and Chucky Brown.
During the 1997 offseason, the Spurs, who finished with the third worst record in the league (David Robinson and Sean Elliott had both suffered injuries which kept them out of the lineup for extended periods) won the 1997 NBA Draft Lottery and, in the subsequent draft, selected consensus All-American Tim Duncan from Wake Forest University.
In 1998 the Spurs met Suns in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. The Suns were seeded number 4 and the Spurs seeded number 5. The Spurs would win the series 3-1 in Tim Duncan's rookie year. The Spurs would lose to Utah 4-1 in the Conference semi-finals.
This marked another major turning point in the rivalry as the Spurs would win three of the next four playoff matchups against the Suns.
[edit] 2000s
The only Spurs series loss to the Suns occurred in the 2000 NBA Playoffs, when Duncan was out with a knee injury.
The Spurs took the first round of the 2003 series from the Suns in six games on their way to their second NBA title.
The two teams met in the 2005 Western Conference Finals. The revived Suns (who had posted the third-greatest turnaround in NBA history that season) went up against the second-seeded Spurs. San Antonio took home the bragging rights as they easily won in 5 games on their way to their third NBA title.
[edit] 2007 NBA Playoffs, Conference Semifinals
- Game 1 was played on May 6 at the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix. The Spurs won 111-106. Late in the 4th quarter, Steve Nash bumped heads with Tony Parker, who had possession of the ball. Nash sustained a deep cut on his nose that bled profusely for the remainder of the game. His nose was bandaged and tended to by the team trainer, but Nash was in and out of the game as the wound continued to bleed through the bandages. It was the first time this postseason that Nash did not record a double-double. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker led the Spurs with 32 and 33 points, respectively. Nash led the Suns with 31 points, while Amare Stoudemire scored 20 and pulled down 13 boards.
- Game 2 was played May 8 at the US Airways Center . The Suns blew out the Spurs 101-81 to even the series at one game apiece. Mike D'Antoni's decision to have Kurt Thomas guard Tim Duncan helped Amare Stoudemire to focus on offense, scoring 21 of his 27 points in the second half. Tim Duncan scored 29 points while Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen both had 13 points.
- Game 3 was played on May 12 in San Antonio. The Spurs beat the Suns 108-101 as Tim Duncan rallied for 33 points and 19 boards. Manu Ginobili got a bloodied and bruised eye when he collided with Marion. The Spurs then led the series 2-1.
- Game 4 was played on May 14 in San Antonio. The Suns trailed by as many as 11 points throughout the 3rd quarter. The Suns took the lead near the end of the 4th quarter when Steve Nash fed Stoudemire to make the game 100-97. Then, Robert Horry knocked Nash into the scorer's table at mid-court. Raja Bell left the bench area and was given a technical foul. Horry was charged with a flagrant foul and ejected. The Suns won 104-98, knotting the series at 2-2. Nash finished the game with 24 points and 15 assists.
- On May 15, the NBA announced that Horry would be suspended two games for the flagrant foul against Nash and striking Bell's shoulder. Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were also suspended one game each for leaving their bench during the altercation. [7] [8] Coach D'Antoni was not happy with Stoudemire and Diaw's suspension saying the next morning after the teams workout: “We have the most powerful microscopes and telescopes in the world in Arizona, [and] you could use those instruments and not find a shred of fairness or common sense in that decision. That's kind of how it feels. It really benefits no one. It doesn't benefit us, obviously. It doesn't benefit the Spurs. It doesn't benefit the fans. It doesn't benefit the NBA."
- Game 5 was played May 16 at the US Airways Center. After leading by as many as 16 points in the second quarter and ahead 79-71 with 5:18 to play. Bruce Bowen hit a three-point shot with 36.4 seconds to go and the Suns lost the game by a score of 88-85. The Suns, without Stoudemire and Diaw because of the aforementioned one-game suspension, were led by Shawn Marion who scored 24 points and collected 17 rebounds, all but four of those points were scored in the second half. Kurt Thomas, playing in place of Stoudemire, had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Steve Nash finished with 19 points and 12 assists. Manu Ginobili scored 15 of his 26 points in the final quarter to lead the Spurs to the late rally as the Suns ran out of energy down the stretch.
- Game 6 was played May 18 in San Antonio, Texas. The return of Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire caused Phoenix some concern about the game. Phoenix started the game matching the Spurs shot for shot. After trailing at halftime 53-51, Phoenix believed that they were going to force a Game 7 back in Phoeinx, but a big 3rd quarter by San Antonio put the Spurs up by as many as 20. In the 4th quarter, the Suns rallied by starting to hit big shots. But in the end, it was not enough as San Antonio ousted the Suns en route to their fourth NBA championship.
[edit] 2007-2008 NBA Season
In the final regular season game of the year between the two teams held on April 9, 2008 in San Antonio, Amare Stoudemire set a screen for Steve Nash on Bruce Bowen with a little over a minute to play when Bowen threw an elbow in Amare Stoudemire's chest. Amare had to be restrained by team mates and coaching staff, while Bruce Bowen took a seat on the bench. The Suns eventually went on to win the game 96-79 and the series by a count of 3 games to 1. But Spurs rebounded in the playoffs. Rolling the sun four games to one. The newly revamp Suns, saw a rivalry of two dominant big men notably, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal
