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Spurs a win away from advancing

Apr 29, 2008 - 3:04 PM Phoenix at San Antonio 9:30 pm EDT Western Conference first round Spurs lead 3-1

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) - San Antonio's lead in their Western Conference first round series with Phoenix may have been narrowed to two games, but the defending champions are still comfortably ahead.

The third-seeded Spurs look to close out the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns at the AT&T Center on Tuesday in Game Five of its Western Conference first-round series.

Raja Bell scored 27 points and Boris Diaw fell two assists shy from registering a triple-double as Phoenix avoided elimination with a 105-86 victory in Game Four on Sunday.

"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."

Tony Parker scored 18 points and Tim Duncan chipped in 14 and 10 rebounds in the loss for the Spurs, who don't want to be known as the first franchise in history to allow a team to really from a three-game deficit.

"We didn't expect to sweep these guys," Duncan said. "We're excited in the situation we're in, up 3-1. 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."

Parker has shined brightest at home in the series, averaging 29.0 points in the two wins here.

The Suns might have to carry on with Diaw in the starting lineup as veteran forward Grant Hill's status remains questionable due to a sore right groin.

"I don't think he can play," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We'll see. It will always be an open possibility. Boris will start and we'll see from there."

The Spurs finished tied for the third best record in the league at 34-7 during the regular season.