Game 1 was a close affair, Phoenix led by 2 at halftime behind a strong game from Nash. However, with less than three minutes to go in the game Nash and Tony Parker collided and Nash suffered a bloody gash on his nose. Despite attempts to control the bleeding so Nash could continue playing, the injury eventually forced him to the sideline for the rest of the game. Without Nash and his 31 points in the lineup, San Antonio was able to pull away and win 111-106. Embattled and bruised but unrelenting in achieving their goal, Phoenix came back and won game 2 at home by twenty points, sending the series back to San Antonio in a 1-1 tie.
Game 3 was a Tim Duncan masterpiece, as the one of the greatest power forwards in history amassed 33 points and 19 rebounds, finishing 12-19 from the field. Duncan led the Spurs to the victory 108-101 and to a 2-1 series lead, turning game 4 into a must win for the Suns. The Spurs controlled the game through three quarters, leading by eight entering the final period of play. But as they had done so often during the D’Antoni era, the Suns got hot when they needed it and won the final quarter, outscoring the Spurs 32-18 in the process earning a 104-98 win.
But the victory was not cheap for Phoenix. With under 30 seconds to play, leading by 3 points, Phoenix grabbed the rebound from a San Antonio miss and got the ball to Nash to bring upcourt. As Nash approached halfcourt, Robert Horry slid up the floor to body check Nash, sending him flying into the scorer’s table. As can be expected, mayhem ensued for a few moments as Raja Bell went at Horry. Nash also got up to con front his offender. Most importantly, Amare and Boris Diaw came off the bench walking towards Nash while he was on the ground violating a league rule that players do not leave the bench area during an altercation.
Horry was ejected and eventually suspended for two games. Bell was assessed a technical foul, but the biggest blow came after the game as David Stern and the NBA levied one game suspensions against Stoudemire and Diaw for leaving the bench. The Suns argued that neither player was involved in the altercation with Horry but Commissioner Stern held steadfast to the rule which stated that a player could not leave the bench during an altercation, regardless of the result. The decision by the league was a huge blow to the Suns. Amare and Diaw were their two most skilled big men, and Phoenix’s rotation would be severely limited for game 5.
Backed by an incensed home crowd, the undermanned Suns took it to the Spurs during the first half of game 5, leading by 11 at halftime. Unfortunately, Phoenix ran out of gas and San Antonio took control during the 4th quarter to secure the victory, 88-85, taking a decisive 3-2 series lead back to Texas. At this point in the series, the Spurs had all the momentum and used a big third quarter to win game 6 at home 114-106. Amare scored 38 points in his return from the suspension and the Suns mounted a late comeback in the 4th quarter, but it wasn’t enough to stop San Antonio from closing out the game and ending Phoenix’s season.