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Wednesday, Apr. 12 10:00pm ET
Vancouver 116, Phoenix 122 | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PHOENIX (AP) _ Penny Hardaway, in foul trouble and ineffective most of the night, scored eight of his 17 points in overtime Wednesday as the Phoenix Suns pulled out a 122-116 win over the lowly Vancouver Grizzlies. Vancouver had lost 10 in a row on the road and 10 in a row to Phoenix, but led the Suns 107-97 with 3:51 to play in the fourth quarter. Phoenix outscored the Grizzlies 12-2 the rest of regulation to force overtime. A loss would have been disastrous to the Suns' hopes for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. With its shaky 51st victory, Phoenix pulled one game ahead of idle San Antonio for the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference with four games to play. Cliff Robinson had 36 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out on an offensive foul with the Suns leading 116-114 with 1:48 to play. The Grizzlies couldn't score, and Hardaway sank a high-arching shot on a drive to the basket to put Phoenix ahead 118-114 with 1:24 to play. Hardaway's two free throws with 24.4 seconds to go clinched the victory. Randy Livingston had a career-high 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Suns, who were without Kevin Johnson. Johnson _ who came out of retirement when starting point guard Jason Kidd broke an ankle _ aggravated a groin strain in Phoenix's victory Tuesday over the Clippers. Rodney Rogers added 14 points, including two crucial three-point plays, one late in the fourth quarter and one in overtime. Vancouver's Michael Dickerson had 35 points but didn't score after the 5:39 mark of the fourth quarter. Othella Harrington added 20 points and 12 rebounds, Mike Bibby had 18 points and 11 assists, and Sharif Abdur-Rahim scored 18. Doug West's inside basket with 7:50 to go triggered a 13-2 run that put the Grizzlies up 107-97 on Abdur-Rahim's two free throws. Rogers' three-point play started an 8-0 charge that cut Vancouver's lead to 107-105 when Penny Hardaway made one of two free throws with 1:33 left. Harrington sank two free throws to make it 109-105, then Todd Day made a 3-pointer, his first basket in six attempts, with 1:03 remaining to cut the lead to 109-108. Dennis Scott fouled Day on a 3-point attempt with 19.9 seconds to go, but Day could make just the last of the three free throws to tie it at 109-109. Dickerson was called for traveling on a drive down the lane, but Rogers couldn't get a shot off and the game went into overtime. ^@Notes: Suns coach Scott Skiles drew a technical foul in the third quarter for complaining about the fourth foul call against Hardaway. Hardaway and Harrington also drew technicals on the play. .... Even though centers Luc Longley and Corie Blount each had five fouls early in the fourth quarter, Skiles kept Oliver Miller on the bench, another sign that the rotund center is in the doghouse. ... Of their remaining four games, the Suns play only one team with a winning record _ Utah, which visits Phoenix on Sunday. ... Phoenix is 31-7 at home, fourth-best in the NBA. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Vancouver Clubhouse Phoenix Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 95 Orlando 91
Phoenix 122 AUDIO/VIDEO   Michael Dickerson is hot from 3-point land.avi: 818 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||