Steve Nash led the Phoenix Suns to a 107-101 victory over the San Antonio Spurs Sunday night, thanks to a gutsy performance that saw the Victoria-native play with a swollen right eye.
Nash suffered the eye injury in the third quarter thanks to an errant elbow from Spurs forward Tim Duncan. After receiving six stitches, Nash returned to the floor with a bandage over his right eye.
Nash went on to score 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, guiding the Suns to a four-game sweep over the Spurs in their NBA Western Conference semifinal.
"He looked like Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini,'" Suns forward Grant Hill said. "It forced him to focus 'cuz he was shooting out of one eye."
Nash's eye injury was similar to one he suffered during the 2007 West semifinals against the Spurs. In that series, Nash butted heads with Spurs guard Tony Parker and Nash continued to play with a bloodied and bandaged nose.
The Suns will face the winner of the Western Conference semifinal between the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz. The Lakers lead the series 3-0.
With files from The Associated Press
