Lakers eclipsed by the Suns
Victories for Phoenix and San Antonio set up a second round NBA play-off clash.
It is the eight successive time the Spurs have negotiated the first round of the play-offs successfully and after losing game one they beat the Nuggests in four straight games.
“Obviously, we’re thrilled with the win against a very good basketball team that is very, very difficult to guard for a lot of reasons,” Gregg Popvich, the Spurs coach, said.
The Spurs will now face the second seeded Suns who beat the Lakers 119-110 to wrap up their series.
The Stoudmaster
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire led the way with 29 points and 17 rebounds for the Suns.
Shawn Marion had 26 points while Steve Nash added eight assists.
Leandro Barbosa scored 18 points coming off the bench for Phoenix.
Despite a comfortable series lead coming into the game, a win was imperative for Phoenix to avoid an arduous trip to Los Angeles for game six.
Kobe Bryant top scored for the Lakers with 34 points but the team have not been past the opening round since 2004, when they lost to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.
“It is tough losing, extremely frustrating,” Bryant, who was the league’s top scorer during the regular season, said.”It was difficult season. The second half was hard. We manage to get through a difficult stretch and find ourselves in playoffs.”