In Game 1 of the 2006 Western Conference Finals, Steve Nash and Boris Diaw combined to lead the Phoenix Suns to a thrilling 121-118 win.
Missing Amare Stoudemire, Diaw showed why he was named Most Improved Player of the Year, leading the charge with 34 points.
Nash scored 10 of his 27 points in the final 3:26 of the game, before setting up the go-ahead bucket for Shawn Marion with 43 seconds remaining after trailing by as many as nine points with just under four minutes to play.
Nash added 16 assists and four rebounds on the night and after Devin Harris gave the Mavs the lead back with 4.8 seconds to go, Diaw buried the clutch jumper with 0.5 seconds left on a play initially designed for Nash, putting the Suns back in front for good.
Boris Diaw floats it in to win Game 1 for the @suns! @theborisdiaw x #NBATogetherLive pic.twitter.com/gYJCyHVfhL
— NBA (@NBA) May 25, 2020
Watch the game below:
"I saw their bench basically yelling out exactly what was going to happen, so I was like, 'OK, Plan B," Nash said. "I was about to call timeout, but ... Tim [Thomas] got it inside and Boris made a heck of a play."
For the Mavs, Devin Harris scored a career-high 30 points, while Dirk Nowitzki added 25 Harris scored a career-high 30 and Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 19 rebounds.
The Mavs would bounce back and win the series in six games, before losing to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in six games.
The views expressed here do not represent those of the NBA or its clubs.
