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Suns try to climb out of deep hole vs. Spurs

Apr 25, 2008 - 2:33 PM San Antonio at Phoenix 10:30 pm EDT Western Conference first round Spurs lead, 2-0

PHOENIX (Ticker) - The Phoenix Suns are on the verge of watching their make-or-break season fall apart.

Trailing two-games-to-none to the third-seeded San Antonio Spurs, the sixth-seeded Suns try to avoid an insurmountable deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series when they return home for Game Three on Friday.

After a heart-breaking Game One loss, Phoenix fell further behind the defending champion Spurs on Tuesday, enduring a 102-96 defeat in Game Two.

Only 13 teams in NBA history have come back to win the series from an 0-2 hole, and the task appears even more daunting for the Suns against a San Antonio team that has knocked them out of the postseason two of the last three years.

"You gotta stay confident," Suns forward Amare Stoudemire said. "That's the name of the game. In order to win, you have to be confident and correct your mistakes. We had chances to win and just didn't execute."

Phoenix struggled to find solutions to problems caused by San Antonio's defense in Game Two. The Spurs erased a seven-point halftime deficit and built a 92-75 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Shaquille O'Neal, who was acquired from the Miami Heat in return for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks earlier this season, was limited to just 11 points and five rebounds in Game One before pouring in 19 and 14 in Game Two.

However, O'Neal, who was brought in to limit the production in the paint of Tim Duncan, Sixth Man Award winner Manu Ginobili and 2007 Finals MVP Tony Parker, has done anything but.

Duncan exploded for 40 points and 15 rebounds in Game One, Ginobili is averaging 27.5 points in the series and Parker is pouring in 29 per game.

"I think if we can get both of them (Parker and Ginobili) away from the basket it would be better," Suns reserve guard Leandro Barbosa said. "We have to do something ... make some adjustments so they don't do that well at our home."