Suns 106, Spurs 103
San Antonio lost Manu Ginobili to injury and the top overall seed to the Chicago Bulls, as Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead the host Phoenix Suns to a 106-103 victory over the Spurs on Wednesday.
Ginobili suffered a hyperextended right elbow in the first quarter after falling to the floor and having Phoenix’s Grant Hill land on top of him. X-rays were negative, and Ginobili is slated to undergo an MRI exam on Thursday.
Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs (61-21). San Antonio finished the regular season with the second-best record behind Chicago (62-20), which possesses homecourt advantage throughout the NBA playoffs.
Channing Frye and Jared Dudley scored 17 points apiece for Phoenix (42-40), which led for nearly the entire contest.
Gary Neal added 14 points for the Spurs but missed a tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds.
Phoenix erupted for 43 first-quarter points and led by 16 entering the second. The Suns made 20 of their first 31 shots before cooling down, but still led 61-53 at halftime.
San Antonio pulled within three points with under five minutes to play, but Dudley scored on a three-point play and a 3-point basket to give the Suns a 100-92 edge with 3:29 remaining. The Spurs responded with a 9-2 run to cut the margin to 102-101 on George Hill’s two three throws with 7.6 seconds left, but Phoenix held on as Aaron Brooks made four consecutive free throws.