'Los Suns' take 2-0 lead over Spurs with 110-102 victory | NBA playoffs

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns took a stand, and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Los Suns ganaron. That means the Suns won.

Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Channing Frye made 5 of 6 three-pointers and Phoenix, wearing its orange "Los Suns" jerseys in part to protest Arizona's new anti-immigration law, pulled away for a 110-102 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

Steve Nash and Jason Richardson scored 19 points apiece and Grant Hill added 18 in a grind-it-out game played at the Spurs' pace until the Suns started hitting three-pointers. After starting 1 of 7 from long range, Phoenix made eight of its next 12.

Tim Duncan had 29 points and 10 rebounds and Richard Jefferson rebounded from a poor Game 1 with 18 points and 10 boards for San Antonio. Tony Parker added 20 points for the Spurs.

The best-of-seven series shifts to San Antonio for Game 3 on Friday night.

"I have to say the impressive thing to me with the win was the team effort," Nash said. "So many guys made plays for our team tonight, and I can't remember really being a part of a team that's had so many guys step up and play well."

Manu Ginobili, guarded mainly by Hill, was 2 of 8 from the field, including just 1 of 2 in the second half, but had 11 assists for San Antonio. Hill also made two big shots down the stretch.

"Grant Hill never ceases to amaze me," Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. "There's a 37-year-old — he hates when I say that. Here's a guy who plays on our team that's been in the league for a long, long time. He just does a good job. Everything we ask him to do, never complains. He's always on the best perimeter player. He never complains. He just plays. He'll forever be my favorite player. He really will."

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich singled out Frye.

"He might have had one that was open, but the rest were contested," Popovich said. "When he does that, they're very, very difficult to guard."

The score was nearly identical to Game 1, won by Phoenix 111-102.

Notes

• Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said he regrets tossing a towel in the air to distract an opponent during a free-throw attempt, calling himself "unprofessional" for doing so. Ainge was caught by the TV broadcast of Monday night's game in Cleveland throwing a towel in the air when Cavaliers forward J.J. Hickson was at the line in the third quarter. Boston led by 23 points at the time, and Hickson made the free throw anyway.

• Boston Celtics big men Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins skipped practice with injuries, but coach Doc Rivers said he expects both to play in Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The series is tied 1-1.

• Kobe Bryant is on the NBA all-defensive first team for the fifth straight year. Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo made the first team for the first time, earning the second-most points behind the league's defensive player of the year, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace also made the team for the first time, with the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James making it for the second straight year.

• Three-time NBA coach Mike Fratello interviewed with the New Orleans Hornets about the club's head-coaching vacancy.

• Adding to an already contentious divorce battle, Dwyane Wade's estranged wife, Siohvaughn Wade, has filed a lawsuit, claiming his relationship with actress Gabrielle Union is causing her and the star Miami Heat guard's two sons emotional distress. Dwyane Wade called the lawsuit "baseless and meritless," and Union issued a statement insisting the allegations are false.

• Another lawsuit has been filed aimed at halting the Brooklyn development that includes a new arena for basketball's Nets.