Associated Press

San Antonio, May 31:

Even if Phoenix Suns don’t come all the way back and make the NBA Finals, they’re guaranteed of having at least one good memory from the Western Conference finals. Getting out on the fast break and doing a better job on defence, Suns showed a never-quit spirit from start to finish to beat San Antonio Spurs 111-106 and prevent being swept in four games. Amare Stoudemire was far better than his statistics (31 points, 5 rebounds) sho-wed, making a series of big plays down the stretch. He held Tim Duncan to 15 points and leaped above the rim to block his dunk attempt with 36 seconds left. Phoenix went up by 12 points midway through the third quarter and never gave it up, despite the Spurs doing their best to pull off their third fourth-quarter comeback of the series. Spurs made it 102-101 on a 3-pointer by Robert Horry and 107-106 on a 3 by Bruce Bowen with 1:03 left but the Suns refused to go down. Nash had 17 points and 12 assists. Joe Johnson scored 26 points, Quentin Richardson scored 14 and Marion had 11. Ginobili led San Antonio with 28 points. Duncan even missed the rim entirely in the fourth quarter, drawing a loud gasp from the home crowd.