KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - New Zealander Sean Marks made a winning debut in the playoffs of the US National Basketball Association championship when he helped the Phoenix Suns to a critical 105-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
Game Five is on Tuesday in San Antonio with the Spurs holding a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Cleveland and New Orleans also opened up 3-1 series leads with road victories on Sunday, while Detroit defeated Philadelphia 93-84 to even their series at 2-2.
Since becoming the first New Zealander signed to the NBA in 1998, Marks, 32, has had two-year stints with the Toronto Raptors, Miami, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix - but has never played in a playoff game.
He finally got his chance today, playing 2-1/2 minutes as the Suns threw up a defensive wall to stop the Spurs from clinching the series.
Phoenix, which had lost the first three games of the Western Conference series, held the Spurs to 13 points in the opening quarter to grab a 21-point lead and raced to the home victory.
Suns forward Boris Diaw, making his first playoff start in almost two years, had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and subdued Spurs' point guard Tony Parker.
"I thought he (Diaw) was phenomenal," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters.
"His defence on Parker and then being able to kind of direct the offence from the low post, that was huge."
Diaw said he tried hard to shut down fellow Frenchman Parker.
"I tried not to give him separation because that's when he becomes dangerous," Diaw told reporters.
"I tried to stay close to him all the time. Once I'm close to him, I try to use my length to bother him on his shot.
Parker, who scored 41 points in Game Three, was held to 18, with Tim Duncan getting 14 points and 10 rebounds.
"Phoenix showed some great reaction, they showed some pride," said Parker. "We had great shots; they just didn't go in."
Shaquille O'Neal, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, also had a strong first quarter, slamming home a dunk for a 34-13 lead.
"We were both angry and frustrated that we lost three games," said Diaw. "We've always felt that we can beat them."
In the other playoff games, Cleveland defeated the Washington Wizards 100-97 while New Orleans beat Dallas 97-84.
- REUTERS
