Spurs Swept! Suns On The Rise!

Wow. I did not see that coming. I've said time and time again this season that the Suns couldn't go any further than the second round. Well, not only did they prove me wrong, but they did so in convincing fashion as they swept the Spurs en route to their first appearance in the conference finals since 2006. After having been eliminated by San Antonio four times in the playoffs since 2003, with Nash on three of those four teams, the Suns have finally overcome the Spurs.

Although they completed the sweep, they didn't leave San Antonio unscathed. Halfway through the 3rd quarter with the Suns up 64-57, Steve Nash caught an inadvertent elbow above his right eye from Tim Duncan who was pulling up for a shot. Nash returned after having six stitches, with the Spurs taking the lead at one point during his absence. The Suns recaptured the lead though, heading into the fourth up 72-71.

Upon his return, Nash's eye was swollen shut and it took on a shade of purple darker than the Suns' jerseys. It looked disgusting to say the least. Despite only being able to see through his left eye, Nash showed incredible poise as the Suns continued to outclass San Antonio. He scored 10 of his 20 points in the decisive fourth quarter, including a huge three-pointer on a fast break that gave the Suns an 80-77 lead. Nash also dished five of his nine assists in the fourth as well. The Spurs had no answer for Nash and Stoudemire's pick and roll offense, as Amare hit a few long jumpers to help seal the win.

The Spurs nearly made a game of it in the final two minutes, as they overcame a 10-point deficit. George Hill was fouled by Amare on a converted three-pointer with under 30 seconds left, and he would hit the free throw to bring the score to 103-101. But the Suns would hang on to win after two Grant Hill free throws, a missed Ginobili three-pointer, and two more free throws from Jason Richardson.

All Good Things Come to an End

One by one, the Thunder's streaks have both been stopped. On Tuesday, their 9-game winning streak was brought to an end at the hands of the Suns (without Steve Nash) after a last second floater by Jason Richardson. Jeff Green nearly hit a desparation three with under a second remaining, but it just missed.

And last night, Kevin Durant's streak of scoring at least 25 points or more was ended at 29 games in a 95-87 loss to the Spurs. Durant appeared to be on track to keep his streak alive as he finished the half with 17 points, but in the second half the Spurs held him to just 4 points.

Despite not reaching 30 games of 25 points or more, KD's streak puts him in good company. Allen Iverson (ok, maybe A.I.'s not the best of company) had a streak of 27 games with 25 points or more, while Jordan managed two 40 game streaks in his career.

I have a feeling KD's name will end up near the top of that list again.

To add insult to injury, with just under three minutes left and the Spurs up by one, Manu Ginobli somehow managed to do this:

Ginobili is so sick

Just sayin...