With star forward Tim Duncan sitting injured on the bench, center David Robinson came through with 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead reigning champion San Antonio a critical playoff triumph.
The Spurs ripped Phoenix 85-70 in San Antonio Tuesday to level their best-of-five NBA first-round playoff series at one victory each with game three Saturday and game four next Tuesday in Phoenix.
Avery Johnson scored 21 to lead the Spurs, who played without leading scorer Tim Duncan for the second straight game.
Duncan, the MVP of last year's Finals, sat out with a torn cartilage in his left knee.
"It has been a distraction for us," Robinson said. "We know he has got a problem with his knee. We don't want him on the floor if he's going to tear up his knee. For us, we can't worry about it. We just have to play."
Penny Hardaway led the Suns with 19 points and Rodney Rogers added 18.
Sean Elliott contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds in his best effort since returning from a kidney transplant.
Duncan's replacement, Samaki Walker, made a career-best eight blocks while Robinson, who scored 21 points in the first half, blocked three shots and provided the offensive spark the Spurs needed.
In Tuesday's other game, Jamal Mashburn's spinning bank shot with six seconds remaining gave Miami an 84-82 victory over Detroit that lifted the Heat to a 2-0 edge over the Pistons in an Eastern Conference opening-round series.
Miami blew two large leads and managed only one basket in the final six minutes until rescued by Mashburn, who had 10 of his 24 points in the final period after scoring 29 points in game one.
On the final possession, Detroit's Jerry Stackhouse slipped and lost control of the ball. He regained it but time ran out and the Pistons suffered their sixth playoff road loss in a row.
Detroit's All-Star forward Grant Hill was hobbled by an ankle bruise and sat out the final 20 minutes after he managed only nine points in 21 minutes on the court.
Stackhouse tried to pick up the slack for Hill and scored 26 points, but had only two in the fourth quarter.
Mourning had 22 points and eight rebounds and rookie Anthony Carter added 10 and a playoff franchise-record 13 assists for Miami. Carter again started for point guard Tim Hardaway, who is out with right ankle and left foot sprains - (Agencies)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
