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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- This time, the Admiral came to play.
David Robinson had 25 points and 15 rebounds as the San Antonio
Spurs overcame a nine-point third quarter for an 85-70 victory over
the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, tying the first-round series.
Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday in Phoenix. The Suns held off
the Spurs in Saturday night's 72-70 victory in Game 1.
|  | | Spurs center David Robinson leaps over teammate Mario Elie and Suns forward Shawn Marion for one of his 15 rebounds. |
"We did a better job of moving around and making them play
defense," said Robinson, held to 3-for-12 on field goals in Game 1
on Saturday.
"I thought that was the difference. I got the ball more with
opportunities that I liked."
Avery Johnson scored 21 to lead the Spurs, who played without
leading scorer Tim Duncan for the second straight game.
Duncan, the MVP of last year's Finals, sat out with torn
cartilage in his left knee.
The Spurs used a 17-3 second-quarter run to take a 51-37
halftime lead, but the Suns held them to just nine points in the
third quarter.
San Antonio held onto a 60-51 lead going into the fourth,
despite Phoenix's pressure. The Suns forced eight turnovers in the
third quarter, mostly at the beginning.
The 23 combined third-quarter points set an NBA playoff record
for fewest points in a quarter. The record was 25 by Atlanta and
New York on May 23, 1999.
The Suns allowed only two field goals in the third quarter, but
went cold in the fourth. Johnson scored 12 of his points in the
fourth to keep the Alamodome crowd happy.
"We came out and played in the third quarter like we should
have played in the first half," Penny Hardaway said. "This is a tough
place to shoot in. It's just the history of the Suns in this place.
We're getting the looks we want. We're just not knocking them
down."
Hardaway led Phoenix with 19 points and Rodney Rogers added 18.
"In the two games, we've been sloppy offensively," Suns coach
Scott Skiles said. "We're not setting and our ball handling is
questionable. We're missing shots we normally make. We're award of
this and have to address it before Saturday."
Robinson had 21 points and 13 rebounds by halftime.
The game was tied 34-34 with 6:19 remaining in the second
quarter, when the Spurs went on a 17-3 run to take a 14-point
halftime lead.
Robinson started the run with a 16-foot jumper and had six
points in the run. Johnson also had six points as the Spurs took
their biggest lead.
Cliff Robinson got Phoenix's only basket in the charge. The
other point came as a result of a technical foul against Spurs
coach Gregg Popovich.
The Spurs followed their plan to come out aggressively and go
right to David Robinson.
The Spurs hit their first three shots, including a jumper and
slam dunk by Robinson, and held on for a 24-20 first-quarter lead.
"The 17-3 run put us in the driver's seat," Popovich said. Our
defense played well, but we sputtered offensively. The defense is
what brought us home."
Game notes
Kevin Johnson entered the game as the Suns' career playoff
scorer with 1,999 points. ... San Antonio is 0-16 in playoff series
when it loses the first game. ... The Suns won 13 of their final 19
road games and entered Game 2 with a four-game road winning streak.
... San Antonio's Jerome Kersey is playing in his 15th postseason,
tied for second with Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone on the NBA's
active list.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
Spurs must go without Duncan in Game 2
RECAPS
Miami 84
Detroit 82
San Antonio 85
Phoenix 70
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