(REUTERS) — San Antonio didn’t stop Stephon Marbury, but the Spurs did make their free throws down the stretch Monday night, and that was enough for an 84-76 victory over Phoenix to even their playoff series at one game apiece.
Two days after the Spurs missed six of their eight free throws in overtime and fell to the Suns in overtime of Game 1, Tim Duncan scored half of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. He helped San Antonio battle back from a seven-point deficit in the period.
The series switches to Phoenix for games Friday and Sunday.
With the Spurs leading 77-76, Manu Ginobili made a 3-pointer from the wing with 1:02 left.
Marbury, the hero of Game 1 with a running 3-point bank shot in overtime, missed a drive to the basket on the next possession.
San Antonio then clinched the victory by making all four of its foul shots in the final minute, two by Duncan and two by Stephen Jackson.
Jackson led the Spurs with 23 points. Duncan also had 12 rebounds, and Danny Ferry, starting in place of the injured David Robinson, had 10 rebounds.
Marbury finished with 32 points. Penny Hardaway scored 17 points for Phoenix, while Shawn Marion paced the Suns with 12 rebounds and Hardaway added 11.
The Spurs led by 10 early in the third period before Phoenix got to 51-49 on Marbury’s two free throws.
In the fourth quarter, Phoenix took the lead on a short jumper by Jake Voskuhl and ran the advantage to 72-65 before the Spurs closed out the game with a 19-4 run.
The first two quarters were also defined by big momentum swings, the first in Phoenix’s direction and the second toward the Spurs.
Marbury made his first five shots from the floor against Tony Parker, accounting for 11 of the Suns’ first 13 points. And on defense, the Suns limited San Antonio to 5-for-19 shooting (26.3 percent) in the period.
But the Spurs had a 15-2 run to open the second quarter, started by an alley-oop pass by Speedy Claxton that Jackson turned into a two-handed dunk. Jackson stole the ball from Joe Johnson on the Suns’ next possession and hit Claxton with a pass for a layup.
A 3-pointer by Ferry gave San Antonio a 27-25 lead three minutes later, and by midway through the period, the Spurs had piled up a 39-29 advantage on Jackson’s second 3-pointer of the quarter.
Jackson scored 12 points in the second period and Claxton had 10 as San Antonio held a 47-41 lead at the break. Hardaway scored eight for Phoenix in the quarter.
Game notes: Ferry’s only other start of the season came Nov. 11 against Minnesota. … Before the game, Robinson was presented with the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, given annually for outstanding community service. … Amare Stoudemire, who scored 24 points in Game 1, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with five points on 2-for-10 shooting. … San Antonio’s Parker scored two points and sat much of the game with foul trouble trying to guard Marbury.
