NBA Playoffs | San Antonio takes 2-0 lead over Phoenix

SAN ANTONIO — Speedy Tony Parker rushed toward the basket on the fast break, then slammed into the 320-pound wall known as Shaquille O'Neal and fell to the floor.

"He was trying to play physical," the Spurs point guard said. "But that's not going to stop me."

Parker and Manu Ginobili got to the rim time and again on Tuesday and the Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 102-96 — this time without double overtime or a game-saving three-pointer from Tim Duncan — to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of seven series.

Parker scored 32 points and Ginobili added 29 for the Spurs, who kept their home-court advantage intact and play Game 3 in Arizona on Friday.

"Between him [Parker] and Manu, those guys were at the rim all night and making some shots over their bigs," said Duncan, who had 18 points and 17 rebounds. "Just a great game for both of them."

For the second straight game, the Suns lost a double-digit, first-half lead. The Spurs were down by as many as 14 early before outscoring the Suns 27-11 in a breakout third quarter to take control.

"I guess we had an offensive meltdown in the third quarter," Suns point guard Steve Nash said. "It just wasn't a productive quarter. Offensively we lost our rhythm, and that was pivotal."

The defending champions racked up a 56-42 advantage in the paint and they beat Phoenix at what's traditionally been the Suns' game, outscoring them 23-4 on the break.

Of taking on O'Neal in the paint, Parker joked that "on a good day, I'm like 160 [pounds]."

"If he wants to go in and play amongst those big dudes, they're going to put him on the ground," said Suns guard Raja Bell. "And if he can keep getting up and doing it, God bless him."

The Spurs still had to withstand a fourth-quarter surge that got the Suns within five points with 14 seconds to play.

Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 33 points but struggled after halftime, when he shot 2 of 11.

"We had beaten them three straight times, now they've beaten us twice; it just happened to be in the playoffs," Nash said. "We're just going to have to play really well at home and get back on a streak."

The Spurs went up by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter after taking control in the third. But Nash led a 10-0 run to bring Phoenix within 96-91 with 2:44 left on the clock.

Duncan had a dunk with 1:47 to play and Parker followed with a bucket to put San Antonio back up 101-93.

Then Stoudemire hit just his sixth three-pointer of the season with 14 seconds left — a la Duncan's game-saver to force a second overtime in Game 1 — to make it 101-96. After that the Suns resorted to fouling and it was too late.

Nash had 23 points and 10 assists for the Suns. O'Neal had 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Other games

At Hornets 127,

Mavericks 103

Chris Paul had 32 points and a franchise-playoff-record 17 assists, leading New Orleans to a that gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

The old record was 15 assists, set by Muggsy Bogues in 1993.

"Sitting there watching Chris really develop into the best point guard in this league, it's amazing to watch how he's really risen his game to another level," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "But that's what great players do. He's definitely one of the best in this league right now."

David West scored 27 points for New Orleans, which took a double-digit lead in the second quarter and cruised the rest of the way.

At Magic 104,

Raptors 103

Dwight Howard had 29 points and 20 rebounds, his second straight 20-20 game, and Orlando beat Toronto for a 2-0 lead in the teams' first-round series.

Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, but missed a 19-footer with 1.9 seconds left that could have won the game.

Howard became the first player with consecutive playoff games of 20 points and 20 rebounds since Kevin Garnett in 2004, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"It was tough to come back and try to play the same way I played the first game," said Howard, who had 25 points and 22 rebounds on Sunday.

"But one of the things [coach Stan Van Gundy] has put in my head, and [Magic assistant Patrick Ewing], is just trying to play as dominant as I could on both ends of the floor."