Duncan and Parker help Spurs down the Suns

Tony Parker added 19 points and Manu Ginobili contributed 15 for the Spurs, who have won three straight games.

Shawn Marion ended with 22 points and 15 boards for the Suns, who have dropped two of their last three contests. Steve Nash added 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the loss.

This game was a rematch of the 2005 Western Conference finals in which the Spurs won the best-of-seven set in five games before eventually going on to win the NBA title.

Trailing by six at intermission, San Antonio came out on fire to begin the third quarter. Duncan’s field goal with just over five minutes left gave the Spurs a 63-60 lead and capped a 16-7 start to the frame.

Robert Horry’s three-pointer later in the period then gave San Antonio a 78-73 lead after 36 minutes.

In the fourth, Michael Finley scored the first four points to widen the Spurs edge to nine points, but Phoenix came back and closed within 85-82 on Nash’s free throw with around 6 1/2 minutes left.

San Antonio quickly went back up by five, but Marion’s basket with 1 1/2 minutes to go, trimmed the Suns gap to 92-91. The Spurs, though, showed their resolve by finishing off the game with the final five points — all from the foul line — and forced the visitors to miss their last four shots.

Phoenix led 25-24 after one quarter and carried a 53-47 edge into halftime.

Game Notes

San Antonio was 25-of-39 from the foul line, compared to just 13-of-19 shooting at the charity stripe by the Suns...Duncan was 8-of-19 from the field and 8-of-11 from the foul line...Finley had 11 points...Leandro Barbosa also scored 14 in the loss...The Spurs are 5-0 at home this season...The home team has won 11 of the last 15 in this series and the Suns have dropped four straight in San Antonio.