Due to the Dallas Maverick’s 67-15 regular season record, Phoenix opened the Western Conference playoffs as the 2-seed with a matchup against the 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers. The opening round series was a rematch of the 2005-06 playoff first round when the Suns rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Lakers in 7 games, moving on in their Western Conference Finals run.
The Suns rallied from a nine point deficit at halftime to take game 1 in Phoenix with a final of 95-87. Game 2 wasn’t close as Phoenix outscored the Lakers in each quarter leading to a 126-98 victory. Kobe Bryant struck back in game 3, scoring 45 to LA to the win 95-89, but the Suns took care of business in games 4 and 5 to close out a 4-1 series win. The opening round win set Phoenix up with a matchup against arch-rival 3-seed San Antonio Spurs with a 3rd straight trip to the Western Conference Finals on the line for the Suns.
Phoenix entered the Western Conference Semifinals redged and rolling. The Dallas Mavericks had been upset by the 8 seed Golden State Warriors in the first round and the expectation was now that whoever came out of the Phoenix-San Antonio series would be the odds on favorite the win the title.