Phoenix, AZ (Basketball News) - Steve Nash recorded his first playoff career triple-double with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 114-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks at America West Arena in pivotal Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Amare Stoudemire added 33 points and 18 rebounds for the Suns, who have taken a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven set. Jim Jackson finished with 21 points, sparking a key fourth-quarter run, for Phoenix, which can close out the series on Friday in Game 6 at Dallas.
Nash, the reigning league MVP, shot 13-of-26 from the floor, while Stoudemire hit 10-of-17 shots. Jackson added 9-of-14 shooting for the Suns, who hit 45 percent from the floor as a team.
Dirk Nowitzki, who suffered a bruised left eye in the third quarter, ended with 34 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had won Game 4 at home to even this series. Nowitzki was poked in the eye, briefly left the game, but returned before the fourth.
Jerry Stackhouse added 29 points off the bench, as Dallas collapsed early in the final quarter and could never recover.
Trailing 77-76 after three quarters, the Suns regained the lead and began to pull away. Jackson’s driving layup gave Phoenix the lead, 78-77, beginning a 9-0 run. Jackson had six points during the surge, capping it with a short hook shot at the 9:23 mark for an 85-77 cushion.
"We needed someone else to step up and he did," said Phoenix head coach Mike D’Antoni of Jackson. "He gave us a chance to give Steve some extra rest to start the fourth quarter and he made some big plays."
Later, a 9-1 run by the Suns turned an 87-83 lead into a 96-84 advantage. Stoudemire and Nash combined for seven points during the burst with a Stoudemire layup with 5:43 left ending it.
Dallas would never really threaten again and the Suns cruised to the finish despite the final score.
Shawn Marion had 16 points and 10 rebounds to round out Phoenix’s double-digit scorers.
"Game 5 is very important," said Nash. "To lose this game would have been very devastating."
Josh Howard had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavs, who shot 44 percent from the floor.
"Tonight was a tale of two halves," said Dallas head coach Avery Johnson. "We did what we wanted to do in the first half. We did not follow the game plan and they shredded us to pieces (in the second half). We did not come out with the intensity we needed."
Dallas scored the final four points of the first quarter to go into the second with a 29-25 lead.
In the second, Dallas concluded a 7-0 run that bridged the opening two quarters when Erick Dampier hit a free throw with 10:32 remaining for a 32-25 edge.
Phoenix responded to draw within 36-35 on a Steven Hunter free throw at the 6:43 mark. Dallas, however, answered with four straight points to extend the lead to five points, 40-35, a minute later and increased its advantage to 55-48 heading into the break.
Phoenix opened the third on a 7-2 run to draw within 57-55. However, it wasn’t until a Nash jumper with 5:13 remaining in the half that the Suns would take their first lead since the first half. The bucket capped an 8-1 run.
The lead would increase to five points, 76-71, on a Nash bucket, but Dallas scored the final six points of the third to go into the fourth ahead 77-76.
"We took a pretty good punch from them in the first half," said D’Antoni, the NBA coach of the year. "In the second half we came out strong."
Phoenix outscored Dallas 66-30 in the paint and 23 to 18 at the free throw line.
Dallas Mavericks 
Phoenix Suns 
