Two banked 3-pointers upend top seeded Springfield.
Orlando-- The rebound of Chandler Dawes's missed free throw was tapped outside to Stephon Thompson, who immediately headed upcourt with the clock ticking.
What happened next can be considered lucky, or good. Or both.
Thompson banked in a running game-winning 3-pointer at the end of overtime to lift Phoenix over Springfield in the opening game of their best-of-seven-playoff.
The shot off the glass came after a similar bank shot by Phoenix's Damion Anderson with 8.4 seconds left in regulation forced overtime.
"It was a teardrop from God," said Thompson, who played all 45 minutes. "I knew it was good."
Teammate Shawn Stevenson wasn't so sure.
"I saw it and I was going to try and get a tip-in, and it went in," Stevenson said, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. "He hit it, and I was so happy."
Dawes missed three free throws in the final 16 seconds and Springfield missed 15 in the game -- five by Dawes.
The final miss was tapped outside by Charlie Dawes, the brother of Chandler, in which the ball landed straight in the hands of Thompson. He sped upcourt, leaped from a foot outside the 3-point arc and released the shot just before the horn sounded.
"They did a great job of staying with us, and that allowed them to be in position to come up with that last shot,'' Dawes said. "Now we just have to come back ready for Game 2."
The win was Phoenix' fourth in five games against Springfield this season. Two of those contests went into overtime.
Springfield missed six of eight foul shots in overtime and managed to go only 26-for-41 (63.4 percent) at the line for the game.
Dawes was 3-for-8.
"Our two nemeses this year are free throws and turnovers,'' Springfield coach Will Jenkins said. "I'm thrilled with our (number of) free throws. I guess they have to go in before 41 (attempts) means something.''
Anderson's 3-pointer off the glass came from a nearly straightway angle with to tie the score at 87. It was only his third 3-pointer of the season. He had 24 points and nine rebounds.
Dawes, double-teamed almost every time he touched the ball, then missed a corner jumper before the fourth-quarter buzzer.
Paul Hammond paced Springfield with 23 points, while Charlie Dawes had 18 points on 8-for-8 shooting and Chandler scored 17 to go with 13 rebounds. Conor McCaffrey shot just 2-for-13 for seven points.
Springfield put their defensive focus on Thompson from the start.
McCaffrey started on defense against Marbury, who averaged 32.5 points, nine assists and five rebounds in four regular-season games against Springfield.
McCaffrey chased the Phoenix point guard all over the floor and fought through pick after pick, and when he got tired, Jake Pollen came in with fresh legs and did the same thing.
Thompson shot 3-for-13 for nine points in the half and had only one assist.
With Marbury being hounded, the Suns got their early offense from Anderson inside and Stevenson outside. Stevenson hit a 3-pointer on the wing to give Phoenix a 14-10 lead with 5:55 left in the first period.
But Phoenix managed only two free throws from Thompson for the rest of the quarter, while Springfield ran off 13 points to take a 23-16 lead after one. Clarence Davis scored six of those points, while Hammond made a 3-pointer after a steal by Davis.
Springfield got its lead up to 34-24 midway through the second quarter on an alley-oop dunk by Charlie Dawes, but Phoenix trimmed their deficit at the free throw line. Thompson made two layups in the final 90 seconds of the half to cut the difference to 40-35 at the break.
Game notes
Ben Chambers was ejected 30 seconds after entering the game after he hit Phoenix center Scott Williams with an elbow on a rebound just before halftime. Referee Scott Allen called a flagrant foul on Chambers... Phoenix staffers said Williams suffered a neck sprain and would not return, but he was back on the floor.