PHOENIX, May 2 -- Phoenix point guard Jason Kidd had nine points and 10 assists and brought out the best in teammates Rodney Rogers and Penny Hardaway Tuesday night as the Suns manhandled the NBA defending champion San Antonio Spurs, 89-78, ending their Western Conference first-round series in four games.
Without superstar forward Tim Duncan for the entire series due to torn cartilage in his right knee, the Spurs looked like a shell of the team that went 15-2 in last season's playoffs en route to their first NBA championship.
While Duncan watched helplessly from the bench, Kidd made a dramatic return less than six weeks after suffering what many figured to be a season-ending injury. Although he appeared slightly out of sync and was sporting a new-look blond hairdo, Kidd energized the crowd and his teammates as he hit 4-of-5 shots and had three steals and two rebounds in 31 minutes.
Hardaway and Rogers each scored 23 points for Phoenix, which advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time since 1995 and made sure the Spurs would be the first team since the 1986 Boston Celtics not to repeat as NBA champions.
David Robinson did his best to keep the Spurs alive despite the absence of Duncan. The 7-1 center had 21 points and 16 rebounds, but went 0-of-5 from the floor in the final period as he and the rest of the the Spurs appeared to run out of steam.
Mario Elie scored 12 points for San Antonio, which became the first defending champion to be knocked out in the first round since the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984.
Phoenix awaits the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings series.
