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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Suns go down in five


Associated Press The San Antonio Spurs and forward Tim Duncan battled past Phoenix to reach the Western Confrence semifinals.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

Tony Parker scored 31 points, Tim Duncan added 29 points and 17 rebounds, and San Antonio advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 92-87 Game 5 victory over Phoenix Tuesday in San Antonio.

The third-seeded Spurs will meet the No. 2 seed Hornets in a second-round series that begins Saturday at New Orleans.

Four other players scored in the double digits, but the Suns had a number of costly turnovers down the stretch and were sent home yet again by the Spurs, who have eliminated Phoenix in four of their last five playoff appearances.

With the Spurs up 88-87 after battling back and forth with the Suns throughout the fourth quarter, Manu Ginobili hit one of two from the line with 25 seconds on the clock.

Steve Nash turned the ball over on an inbounds pass from Raja Bell, and Phoenix sent Ginobili to the line again with 23 seconds left. Ginobili hit both this time to make it 91-87.

Nash’s 3-point attempt missed and Duncan hit another free throw.

Rockets 95, Jazz 69: At Houston, Tracy McGrady scored 29 points, Luis Scola added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Rockets staved off elimination by routing Utah in Game 5 of their first-round series.

Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 10 rebounds as the Rockets cut their series deficit to 3-2 and forced Game 6 in Utah on Friday night.

The Rockets did everything they hadn’t done for most of the series. They shot well, hit their free throws and got valuable production off the bench.

The Jazz, meanwhile, endured their worst offensive performance of the season, setting a season-low point total by eight. They also committed 18 turnovers and were outrebounded 46-38.

Hornets 99, Mavericks 94: At New Orleans, Chris Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and the Hornets held on for a victory over Dallas to win their first-round series in five games.

David West scored 25 for New Orleans and Jannero Pargo had 17, while Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

While the crowd was celebrating Dallas regrouped and stormed back. The Mavs got as close as 97-94 after Brandon Bass, who had 11 points, hit two free throws with 33 seconds left.

Pistons 98, 76ers 81: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Chauncey Billups scored 21 points, Richard Hamilton had 20 and Rasheed Wallace added 19 to lift Detroit to a 3-2 lead over Philadelphia in the first-round series.

Billups seized control from the start, scoring 14 points and adding five assists as Detroit took a 35-21 lead after the first quarter.

Wallace had six blocks, one short of the playoff franchise record he matched in Game 1.