2000s Spurs–Suns rivalry

1 2000s

1.1 2007 nba playoffs
1.2 2007-2008 nba season
1.3 2008 nba playoffs
1.4 2010 nba playoffs

2000s

the rivalry went new level in decade, because spurs , suns met several times in playoffs. spurs series losses suns occurred in 2000 nba playoffs, when duncan out knee injury , in 2010 nba playoffs, when suns put first 4-0 sweep in rivalry.

the spurs took first round of 2003 series suns in 6 games on way second nba title.

the 2 teams met in 2005 western conference finals. revived suns (who had posted third-greatest turnaround in nba history season) went against second-seeded spurs. san antonio took home bragging rights won in 5 games on way third nba title.

2007 nba playoffs

the spurs , suns met in 2007 nba playoffs in heated second-round series many later described having been real finals.

game 1 played on may 6 @ airways center in downtown phoenix. spurs won 111–106. late in fourth quarter, steve nash bumped heads tony parker, had possession of ball. nash sustained deep cut on nose bled profusely remainder of game. nose bandaged , tended team trainer, nash in , out of game wound continued bleed through bandages. first time postseason nash did not record double-double. tim duncan , tony parker led spurs 32 , 33 points, respectively. nash led suns 31 points, while amar e stoudemire scored 20 , pulled down 13 boards.
game 2 played may 8 @ airways center. suns blew out spurs 101–81 series @ 1 game apiece. mike d antoni s decision have kurt thomas guard tim duncan helped amar e stoudemire focus on offense, scoring 21 of 27 points in second half. tim duncan scored 29 points while tony parker , bruce bowen both had 13 points.
game 3 played on may 12 in san antonio. spurs beat suns 108–101 tim duncan rallied 33 points , 19 boards. manu ginobili got bloodied , bruised eye when collided shawn marion. spurs led series 2–1.
game 4 played on may 14 in san antonio. suns trailed many 11 points throughout third quarter. suns took lead near end of fourth quarter when steve nash fed stoudemire make game 100–97. came foul nudged spurs-suns rivalry friendly toward cantankerous. robert horry knocked nash scorer s table @ mid-court. raja bell left bench area , given technical foul. horry charged flagrant foul , ejected. suns won 104–98, knotting series @ 2–2. nash finished game 24 points , 15 assists.


on may 15, nba announced horry suspended 2 games flagrant foul against nash , striking bell s shoulder. amar e stoudemire , boris diaw suspended 1 game each leaving bench during altercation. [7] [8] coach d antoni not happy stoudemire , diaw s suspension saying next morning after teams workout: “we have powerful microscopes , telescopes in world in arizona, [and] use instruments , not find shred of fairness or common sense in decision. s kind of how feels. benefits no one. doesn t benefit us, obviously. doesn t benefit spurs. doesn t benefit fans. doesn t benefit nba. observers pointed out tim duncan , bruce bowen left bench during altercation in second quarter, however, not suspended or disciplined in manner.


game 5 played may 16 @ airways center. after leading many 16 points in second quarter , ahead 79–71 5:18 play, bruce bowen hit three-pointer 36.4 seconds go ahead , suns lost game 88–85. suns, without stoudemire , diaw because of aforementioned one-game suspension, led shawn marion scored 24 points , collected 17 rebounds; 4 of points scored in second half. kurt thomas, playing in place of stoudemire, had 15 points , 12 rebounds. steve nash finished 19 points , 12 assists. manu ginobili scored 15 of 26 points in final quarter lead spurs late rally suns ran out of energy down stretch.
game 6 played may 18 in san antonio, texas. return of boris diaw , amar e stoudemire caused phoenix concern game. phoenix started game matching spurs shot shot. after trailing @ halftime 53–51, phoenix believed going force game 7 in phoenix, big third quarter san antonio put spurs many 20. in fourth quarter, suns rallied starting hit big shots. in end, not enough san antonio ousted suns 114-106 en route fourth nba championship.


the series later mired in controversy due 1 of referees involved series, tim donaghy, being involved betting scandal announced after playoffs. admit series had poor officiating involved beginning of series end of it. state in book donaghy release in 2009 group supervisor during series, tommy nuñez, had huge dislike on suns owner robert sarver , growing love culture san antonio had, point wanted make sure spurs continued playoff run year.

2007-2008 nba season

the newly revamped suns saw rivalry in 2008 evolve struggle between 2 of nba s dominant big men, tim duncan , shaquille o neal. in final regular season game of year between 2 teams held on april 9, 2008 in san antonio, amare stoudemire set screen steve nash on bruce bowen little on minute play when bowen threw elbow in amare stoudemire s chest. amare had restrained team mates , coaching staff, while bruce bowen took seat on bench. suns went on win game 96-79 , season series count of 3 games 1.

2008 nba playoffs

the suns , spurs met again in 2008 nba playoffs. anticipation of renewal of rivalry high. “the phoenix-san antonio matchup going absolute bloodbath,” said houston rockets shane battier.

in game 1, spurs won 117-115 @ home in double overtime. after michael finley hit three-pointer send game overtime, duncan had hit three-pointer of entire season send game second overtime, , ginobili hit lay-up 1 second remaining win game. phoenix had let invaluable opportunity take home-court advantage away spurs slip away.
throughout series, spurs made extensive use of controversial hack-a-shaq defense, used bench players intentionally foul notoriously poor free-throw shooter shaquille o neal shoot free throws. coach greg popovich used strategy extensively in game 5 of series. spurs coach gregg popovich had players intentionally foul o neal, 52% career free-throw shooter, throughout game. finished 9-of-20 line, dropping suns 20-of-37 total on free throws. suns eliminated playoffs in 92-87 spurs win.

in may 2008, espn.com columnist john hollinger named spurs hack-a-shaq use best tactic of first 2 rounds of 2008 nba playoffs. hollinger wrote popovich first master how use weapon advantage. explained popovich used tactic eliminate 3-point attempts , 25 seconds or less @ end of quarters ball spurs gain last possession. hollinger stated should eureka! moment other coaches, , expect league s copied tactic next year.

2010 nba playoffs

after eliminating number 2 seeded dallas mavericks, spurs qualified western conference semifinals meet number 3 seeded suns. marked 3rd time in 4 years teams meet in playoffs. steve nash led suns 33 points , 10 assists game 1 victory, 111-102. amar e stoudemire led suns 23 points , 11 rebounds suns defend home-court advantage , go 2-0 on spurs. suns won game 3 110-96 goran dragić scoring 23 of 26 points in fourth quarter take 3-0 lead in series. suns went in sweep spurs in 4-0 nash scoring 20 points 10 of them being scored when right eye swollen shut.