WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

No. 1 PHOENIX vs.

No. 2 SAN ANTONIO

SCHEDULE

* GM 1: Today at Phoenix...12:30 p.m.

* GM 2: Tuesday at Phoenix...6 p.m.

* GM 3: Saturday at San Antonio...6 p.m.

* GM 4: May 30 at San Antonio...5:30 p.m.

* GM 5: June 1 at Phoenix...6 p.m.*

* GM 6: June 3 at San Antonio...6 p.m.*

* GM 7: June 5 at Phoenix...5:30 p.m.*

TV coverage: Games 1, 4 and 7 are on Channel 7. Other games on ESPN.

BREAKDOWN

* Season series: Spurs, 2-1.

* Records: Suns 62-20, Spurs 59-23.

* Series preview: The top two teams in the Western Conference staged one of the most entertaining games of the regular season Jan. 21 at Phoenix, the Spurs winning in overtime, 128-123, behind Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, who combined for 78 points. Two months later, the Spurs lost at Phoenix when Duncan and Ginobili were sidelined because of injuries. Even with Duncan, they never found an answer for Amare Stoudemire. The undersized Sun center scored 37, 35 and 44 points in three games against the Spurs and made 73% of his shots. The Spurs might be the NBA’s best defensive team, but the Suns made 49% of their shots against them.

* Coaches’ playoff records: Mike D’Antoni (Phoenix), 8-2; Gregg Popovich (San Antonio), 61-37.

*--* STAT COMPARISON PHO SA Points per game 110.4 96.2 Opp. points per game 103.2 88.4 Rebounds 44.1 42.4 Shooting pct. 47.7 45.3 Opp. shooting pct. 44.5 42.6 Three-point pct. 39.3 36.3 Opp. three-point pct. 33.5 36.7 Free-throw pct. 74.8 72.4

*--*

* Prediction: Spurs, 4-2.