Suns defeat Spurs in Game 4 to tie series

The Phoenix Suns' 12-1 run to end Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals gave them a 104-98 victory last night that evened the series with the host San Antonio Spurs.

The tension that has been building between the teams throughout nearly boiled with 18 seconds to play.

The Suns, who trailed by as many as 11 points, had taken the lead for the first time in the second half on consecutive behind-the-back feeds from Steve Nash to Amare Stoudemire that made it 100-97 with 32 seconds to play.

As Nash started to bring the ball up the court after Manu Ginobili missed the Spurs' fourth straight shot, San Antonio's Robert Horry hit him with a forearm that knocked him into the scorers' table and had players from both teams rushing to the scene.

Phoenix's Raja Bell tried to get at Horry, as did Nash after he jumped to his feet.

Horry was given a flagrant foul and was ejected. Bell was given a technical foul. A free throw by each team made it 101-98. The Suns kept possession and Nash added another free throw with 16 seconds to go.

Shawn Marion added two free throws with 7.4 seconds to go.

Game 5 is tomorrow night in Phoenix and it's possible there could be suspensions from the league for players leaving the bench after Horry fouled Nash.

Stoudemire led the Suns with 26 points, while Nash had 24 points and 15 assists.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points and Tim Duncan had 21 points and 11 rebounds.

In another game:

* At East Rutherford, N.J., Le-Bron James had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and the Cavaliers moved one victory from their first Western Conference finals appearance in 15 years by beating the New Jersey Nets, 87-85, in Game 4.

Larry Hughes added 19 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who can wrap up the best-of-seven series at home tomorrow night.

Cleveland made the last of its two conference finals appearances in 1992.

The Cavs fell one win short last year, dropping the final two games to Detroit in the Eastern semifinals.

Vince Carter and Mikki Moore had 25 points each for New Jersey.

* Bryan Colangelo, the Toronto Raptors' president and general manager, was chosen as the NBA's Executive of the Year for the second time. He also won the award with Phoenix in 2004-05. His father, Jerry Colangelo, won the award a record four times (1976, 1981, 1989 and 1993) as GM of the Suns. *