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Suns, bloodied Nash looks to bounce back vs. Spurs

May 8, 2007 - 1:33 PM San Antonio at Phoenix 10:30 pm EDT Western Conference semifinals Spurs lead, 1-0

PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Steve Nash had to sit out at the end of Game One, and it dearly cost the Phoenix Suns.

Nash and the Suns will look to get back on track against the San Antonio Spurs in Game Two of their Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday.

Phoenix suffered a 111-106 defeat in the series opener on Sunday. The key moment came with 2:53 remaining, when Nash and Spurs guard Tony Parker collided.

Parker stayed on the floor for a moment and ended up with a bump on his forehead. Nash had a gash across the bridge of his nose that would not stop bleeding despite treatment at nearly every break in the game. He required six stitches afterward.

"It was just a big gash apparently and wide and deep and we couldn't get it to stop bleeding and there wasn't a lot of time left so we didn't think we had time to go in and stitch it up, so we tried to manage it," Nash said. "But it was too long and too deep."

Nash tried to help the Suns battle back, but coach Mike D'Antoni substituted for Nash, who again needed to have the bleeding stemmed.

"I guess the refs thought there was too much blood or whatever," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It would have been great if he had been allowed to play. If we had to take Tim Duncan out at the end or someone like him, we'd feel the effects, too."

Duncan had 33 points and 16 rebounds and Tony Parker added 32 and eight assists for the third-seeded Spurs, who continue to have the Suns' number in USAirways Arena. San Antonio has won its last five playoff games here, dating to 2003.

The series will shift to San Antonio for Game Three on Saturday.