Western Conference | Diaw, Suns hanging on

PHOENIX — One Frenchman put Phoenix on the brink of elimination. Another brought the Suns back to life.

Boris Diaw fell two assists shy of a triple-double Sunday and the Suns avoided a first-round sweep at the hands of San Antonio with a 105-86 rout of the Spurs.

Diaw, starting in place of injured Grant Hill, had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in one of the best playoff performances of his career.

"I think he's a heck of a basketball player," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He's been maligned here a little bit, but he can play. He stepped up big."

Diaw also played tough defense on his good friend and fellow Frenchman Tony Parker, who scored 18 points after a career-high 41 in San Antonio's 115-99 victory Friday in Game 3.

"I think they kind of relaxed being up 3-0," Diaw said, "but we came out and played, too. We didn't come out like the series was over. We came out fired up."

No one was more aggressive than Raja Bell, who scored 21 of his 27 points in a dominant first half to help Phoenix bring a one-sided end to the defending NBA champions' nine-game playoff winning streak. The Suns were 11-0 in the regular season when Bell scored at least 20.

"I was really embarrassed by my play and the team's play after the last game," Bell said. "It was hard to sleep. I was restless. I couldn't put it to bed."

Phoenix still trails the first-round series 3-1, with Game 5 on Tuesday in San Antonio. No NBA team has come back from 0-3 to win a series, a fact that wasn't lost on the Spurs' Tim Duncan.

"We didn't expect to sweep these guys," Duncan said. "We've got to win one more game, and we get to go home and try to win it there. Those are a lot of things that are in our favor."

The Suns won in a blowout even though Amare Stoudemire scored just seven points and Steve Nash had four assists.

Duncan scored 14 and Manu Ginobili 10 for the Spurs. Parker shot 7 of 17 and committed five turnovers, then said Diaw's defense was nothing special.

"They always think that's going to bother me but I had my shots," he said. "It didn't bother me at all, I just missed my shots."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich threw in the towel by benching his three stars late in the third quarter.

"You lose by two and you play all those minutes, or you lose by 20 and you get some time to rest," Duncan said. "I guess you can find a positive there."

Hornets 97, at Mavericks 84

David West hardly said a word the last two days. That meant trouble for Dallas.

West let out his pent-up frustration over a poor Game 3 with a determined effort in Game 4, scoring 10 of his 24 points in a quick stretch early in the second half to help New Orleans take a 3-1 series lead.

The Hornets hadn't won in Dallas over 14 tries since January 1998. This victory means they might not have to come back until next season. They can eliminate the Mavericks by winning Game 5 on Tuesday in New Orleans.

Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Jason Terry scored 20 points, but they didn't get much help. Josh Howard was 3 for 16, and Jason Kidd had just three points, three assists and four rebounds before getting ejected with 7:16 left for a flagrant foul on Jannero Pargo.

The meltdown — in this game, in this series and since being up 2-0 on Miami in the finals two years ago — might end up costing coach Avery Johnson his job. His Mavs went from scoring 30 points in the first quarter to 40 in the entire second half, putting them on the brink of a second straight first-round exit.