NBA Game Summary - Phoenix at Memphis

Memphis, TN (Basketball News) - Joe Johnson poured in 25 points and Shawn Marion finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, as the Phoenix Suns completed a sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies with a 123-115 victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference quarterfinals at the FedEx Forum.

Steve Nash added 24 points and nine assists for the Suns, who swept a best-of- seven series for the first time in franchise history. Phoenix’s last sweep came against Portland in a best-of-five set during the 1995 postseason.

"I think it’s a good accomplishment to sweep a team in the league," said Nash.

The Suns are also in the conference semifinals for the first time since 2000. That year Phoenix beat San Antonio in the opening round before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semis.

Jim Jackson netted 19 and Amare Stoudemire chipped in 18 for Phoenix, which will face the winner of the Dallas/Houston series in the next round.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were swept out of the playoffs for the second straight year and dropped to 0-8 all-time in the postseason. They lost in four games to San Antonio in last year’s opening round.

"I was really proud of the effort the guys made out there," said Grizzlies head coach Mike Fratello.

Pau Gasol recorded a game-high 28 points for Memphis and Jason Williams collected 20 points and eight assists. Dahntay Jones posted 14 points, while Mike Miller and Stromile Swift added 13 apiece.

The Grizzlies were without Bonzi Wells after the forward was disciplined for missing a team shootaround on Sunday morning. Wells was not even allowed to sit on the bench for Sunday’s loss.

The Suns held a 63-56 advantage at halftime after leading by as many as 21 early in the second quarter. Memphis then scored eight of the third quarter’s first nine points to even the game at 64-64. Williams hit back-to-back three- pointers to start the run and Gasol’s layup knotted the game with 10:32 left.

Phoenix responded with 19-6 burst to take the lead for good. Stoudemire scored six points in the run and he hit a pair of free throws to give the Suns an 83-70 lead with 3:46 left. Phoenix would lead 91-82 by the end of the third quarter.

The closest Memphis would get in the final quarter was five after Williams’ three-pointer made it 110-105 with 4:11 left. However, the Suns answered with an 8-0 run to take control of the game. Quentin Richardson’s three-pointer at the 1:14 mark sealed the burst and gave Phoenix a 118-105 edge.

The Suns won the game at the free throw line, making 36-of-49 from the stripe. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies made 12-of-16 from the foul line.

"Here’s the key. We don’t foul," said Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni. "We practice that and we preach it. Other teams try to get into us and get real aggressive and they (officials) call fouls like that."

The score was tied at 11-11 in the opening minutes of the first quarter when Phoenix used an 11-2 run to grab a nine-point edge. Johnson had seven points in the run and his set of free throws made it 22-13 with 4:24 remaining.

The Suns continued to add to their lead and held a 39-20 cushion at the end of the quarter. Johnson scored 16 points in the opening 12 minutes and Phoenix shot a blistering 67 percent from the field.

Stoudemire started the second quarter with a pair of free throws to give Phoenix its biggest lead at 41-20. The Suns still held a 54-40 edge around the midway point of the second, but seven straight Memphis points cut it to 54-47. Phoenix then used a 7-0 run to restore its 14-point advantage, but the Grizzlies closed the period on a 9-2 stretch to cut the deficit to seven points at the break.

Johnson led all scorers with 18 points at the break and Jones paced Memphis with 12.