Suns rest regulars, beat Blazers

Published 6:02 am Thursday, April 17, 2008

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns were looking ahead to the playoffs long before they finished off their 100-91 victory over Portland.

San Antonio’s rout of Utah earlier in Wednesday night locked Phoenix (55-27) into the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The Suns will open on the road against the No. 3 Spurs, their postseason nemesis.

“It’s an unbelievable way to start off the playoffs, but that’s how it is,” Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Little-used Sean Marks had 16 points and 13 rebounds on a night that the Suns rested most of their regulars. The Suns and Spurs tip off on Saturday afternoon in San Antonio.

The Suns have opened the playoffs at home each of the last three years. But D’Antoni said he wasn’t concerned about starting on the road.

“I don’t think it really matters that much, other than revenue,” D’Antoni said.

As the regular season’s final night began, the Suns had hoped to move up in the jumbled playoff race. They had only one shot at opening the playoffs at home: a victory coupled with a Houston loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. That scenario went by the boards when the Rockets blew out the Clippers.

Suddenly, the only out-of-town score that mattered was Utah at San Antonio.

Before the game, D’Antoni said he would monitor the San Antonio game and pull his starters if it became clear that the Suns couldn’t move up. The Spurs led Utah by 26 at halftime, and it wasn’t long before D’Antoni sent in reserves D.J. Strawberry, followed by Marks, Alando Tucker and Eric Piatkowski.