Basketball Betting

Suns try to put Spurs in 2-0 series hole

Basketball Betting Lines

05/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff-tested San Antonio Spurs will try to avoid falling in a 2-0 series hole when they face the Phoenix Suns tonight in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals at US Airways Center.

Steve Nash, Jason Richardson and Amare Stoudemire combined for 83 points as the Suns beat San Antonio, 111-102, in the opener of the set on Monday in the desert.

Nash totaled 33 points and 10 assists, Richardson scored 27 and Stoudemire ended with 23 points and 13 rebounds. The starting backcourt of Nash and Richardson went 23-of-35 from the floor.

"We haven't really done anything yet," Nash said. "We did our job in Game 1, but we have to have a better performance in Game 2. They're going to come out extremely desperate in Game 2 and we have to match that."

Phoenix, coming off a first-round series win over Portland, held on despite shooting just 5-of-14 from the field in the last quarter. They made 15 foul shots in the final period.

"We can't get too excited," Stoudemire said. "They're a team with a great pedigree and know how to come back in a series. We played well on both ends, but we have to make sure we stay hungry."

Manu Ginobili scored 27 points, while Tony Parker came off the bench for 26 for the Spurs, who beat Dallas in six games in the conference quarterfinals. Tim Duncan finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in defeat.

"He wanted to come out and be real aggressive and see what he could get done early," Duncan said of Nash. "He did great. He shot the ball well and opened the floor up for them. The rest of the game he kind of picked us apart."

The Suns will be sporting a different look tonight. The club will wear their "Los Suns" game jerseys for Cinco de Mayo.

"Our players and organization felt that wearing our "Los Suns" jerseys on Cinco de Mayo was a way for our team and our organization to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the State of Arizona, and our nation," Suns managing partner Robert Sarver said.

The move is also designed as a bit of a protest against Arizona's new controversial immigration law, a hot-button topic in the state.

"The frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law," Sarver said. "However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question, and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

These two franchises have matched up nine times in the postseason with the Spurs winning six, including the last four. In recent years, the Suns were beaten by San Antonio in a 2008 first-round matchup and a 2007 semifinal series.

The Suns haven't beaten San Antonio in the postseason since 2000 and the last three times the Spurs have won the NBA championship, the team eliminated Phoenix along the way.

The Suns, however, have won five-straight best-of-seven series in which they have won Game 1 at home.

Game 3 is set for Friday in San Antonio.