helped as Phoenix rolled to a 62–20 record and the best record in the NBA. The teams met in the 2005 Western Conference Semifinals with Phoenix having the home-court advantage. Phoenix won game 1 127–102 with a 40-point game by Amar'e Stoudemire. Steve Nash was also given his NBA MVP award during that game, a game in which he terrorized his former team. However, Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki hit a game-winning turn-around jumper in game 2 to beat Phoenix 108–106 to send the series back to Dallas tied 1–1. Phoenix and Dallas split the two games in Dallas which saw both winners of games score 119 points. The series went back to Phoenix then took care of Dallas 114–108 in the America West Arena (now US Airways Center). Then, in game 6, with Dallas facing elimination, Phoenix beat Dallas in a thriller which saw Steve Nash with a 39-point game, to go along with 12 assists. In the Western Conference Finals, Phoenix lost to the San Antonio Spurs, who then went on to win the NBA title. The following year, a Suns team without Stoudemire (who was injured), Joe Johnson, and Quentin Richardson, but with a core of new players led by Raja Bell (who clotheslined Lakers star Kobe Bryant in a first-round series game), Boris Diaw and Tim Thomas to go along with Nash and fellow All-Star Shawn Marion. Phoenix had to play seven-game series against the two Los Angeles teams, the Los Angeles Lakers (who had a 3–1 lead against Phoenix) and the resurgent Los Angeles Clippers. In the Western Conference Finals, they faced a Mavericks team who won 60 games, but were forced to be the fourth seed since the division winners got the top three seeds. On their way to the Western Conference Finals, Dallas swept the Memphis Grizzlies, and beat in-state rival San Antonio Spurs in seven tense games. Phoenix won game 1 121–118 after Diaw hit a game-winning shot in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Bell, though injured himself in game 1, missing Games Two and Three. After that, Dallas took control of the series, winning Games Two and Three by the scores of 105–98 and 95–88. Bell came back for game 4 and led Phoenix to a 106–86 blowout win. Dallas however, beat Phoenix 117–101 in game 5 which included a 50-point performance from Dirk Nowitzki, and eliminated the Suns in