SAN ANTONIO - Amare Stoudemire patiently waited until the fourth quarter before taking over and giving Terry Porter a win in his coaching debut.

Stoudemire scored 22 points - 11 coming on 5-of-5 shooting in the fourth quarter - and four other Phoenix players scored in double figures to help the Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-98 in the regular-season opener for both teams Wednesday night.

"It was just being patient," said Stoudemire, who had only six shots heading into the fourth quarter. "That's the main thing tonight - just being patient. Just let the game come to me.

"There in the fourth quarter, I was able to get going."

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each scored 32 points for the Spurs, who were playing without guard Manu Ginobili who is out until December after ankle surgery.

Nash added 13 points and 13 assists for the Suns. Leandro Barbosa had 18 points, Shaquille O'Neal 15, and Grant Hill 13.

"Obviously, the first one is nice, especially on the road," said Porter, who was hired when Mike D'Antoni opted during the offseason to coach the New York Knicks.

"Our guys really gutted it out tonight," he said. "It was great to see that down the stretch."

San Antonio won a five-game series over the Suns in the first round of the playoffs last season, partly on a long 3-pointer by Duncan late in Game 1. Duncan tried another 3-pointer Wednesday that would have tied the game, but it bounced off the front of the rim with eight seconds left.

"I thought, ‘Oh, no. Not again,"' Stoudemire said. "Luckily he missed that one, we got the rebound and went down the floor."

Barbosa added two free throws with three seconds to go.

Stoudemire broke a tie game with 2:53 to go with a three-point play.

"Amare was huge for us down the stretch," Porter said. "(Nash) also made a couple of big plays. It was a solid win for us and just a great way to start the season."

After Raja Bell stole the ball away from Duncan on the other end of the court, Stoudemire quickly scored on a fastbreak on an assist from Nash to give Phoenix a 99-94 lead with 2:31 remaining.

The turnover and quick basket angered Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who was 12-0 in season-opening games.

"It was the worst transition defense I've seen in years," Popovich said. "I can't imagine how bad it was.

"Several people made poor decisions in the game down the stretch. It was very disappointing."

Bell stole the ball on a Duncan pass. Bell fired the ball to Nash, who set up Stoudemire for an easy layup.

Phoenix led 101-98 with less than a minute remaining, but Parker missed a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left before Duncan missed his try.

Once again the Spurs employed the Hack-a-Shaq that helped them last season in the playoffs. During the preseason, O'Neal called Popovich's liberal use of the Hack-a-Shaq during the first round last season "a coward move."

Popovich poked fun at O'Neal in the opening seconds of the ballgame when Michael Finley grabbed the big center away from the ball a scant five seconds into the game. O'Neal laughed when he looked over to the Spurs bench and saw Popovich smiling while giving two thumbs up.

"I thought it was funny - bring a little humor to the game," Duncan said.

It got more serious before halftime when the Spurs employed the Hack-a-Shack four times in the final 1:26 with Phoenix leading 46-40.

Even though O'Neal made 5-of-8, the Spurs were able to cut the Suns' lead to 49-46 at halftime.

Before the grabbing and pulling was done, O'Neal got tangled with Ime Udoka. Udoka was motioning to the official that he was going to foul O'Neal, and O'Neal raised his left arm toward Udoka and sent the Spurs defender flat onto the floor. Udoka was called for the foul and O'Neal made both shots.

Notes: Matt Barnes, signed by Phoenix after playing in Golden State last season, made his first shot - a 3-pointer - 54 seconds into the game and missed six straight after that and finished 3-of-10. ... The Spurs announced before the game that they have exercised the team's third-year option on 2005 first-round pick Ian Mahinmi, a 22-year-old who's played in six NBA games. ... The Spurs expect C Fabricio Oberto to miss at least two games after the atrial fibrillation condition in his heart was diagnosed and treated Tuesday.

Yao, Artest help Rockets beat Grizzlies in opener

HOUSTON - Since acquiring Ron Artest in the offseason, the Houston Rockets have talked boldly about contending for the NBA championship. They have plenty of improvements to make before that happens.

Yao Ming had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Artest added 16 in his Houston debut, and the Rockets overcame poor shooting to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 82-71 on Wednesday night.

Luis Scola had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who were 28-for-76 (36.8 percent) from the field. They also went 5-for-16 from 3-point range and were outrebounded 49-44.

"It was ugly," said Artest, who went 6-of-14 from the field. "But if it means we're 1-0, then we'll take it."

Rudy Gay scored 20 and Darrell Arthur had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who've lost all eight season openers since moving to Memphis in 2001.

Tracy McGrady, wearing a brace on his left shoulder and a wrap below his left knee, had 16 points and five assists, but went 7-for-18 from the field.

McGrady put a positive spin on the team's mediocre performance. He says it's too early for anyone to think that the Rockets are instantly contenders, just because Artest is now on the roster.

"I'm actually glad this game was pretty close, so we won't get ahead of ourselves and think we've arrived," he said. "I'll take any win. But we've still got a long ways to go. We can see that we're not there yet."

Houston won this one with its defense, which ranked fourth in the league in points allowed last season. Memphis shot 38 percent from the field (31-for-81) and went 0-for-13 from 3-point range.

The Grizzlies admitted they were nervous at the start, and they failed to execute down the stretch, scoring only 14 points in the fourth quarter. But Gay walked off the court encouraged.

"We took some big strides," he said. "We will learn from this. It was a little sloppy. We were scrappy and that is what we need to do to be successful."

Artest had two steals and a breakaway layup in the first minute of the game and the Rockets raced to an 11-2 lead.

But Artest and McGrady both had two turnovers apiece in the first quarter to help the Grizzlies stay close. Gay scored 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting in the quarter and Houston led only 26-18.

Both teams missed 8 of their first 10 shots in the second quarter. Artest sank a 3-pointer near the 6-minute mark to put the Rockets up 34-26, but the Grizzlies closed the gap to 37-35 on Marc Gasol's three-point play with 2:49 left in the half.

The Rockets led 43-37 at the break, but McGrady walked off the floor with his hands on his hips and a frustrated on his face look after going 4-for-10 from the field. Houston was only 6-for-21 from the field in the second quarter.

With the additions of Artest and sharpshooter Brent Barry, Houston has become a popular preseason pick to challenge the Lakers in the Western Conference. The Rockets led most of the game, but the Grizzlies made several mini-runs to keep it close to the end.

Point guard Rafer Alston, who went 2-for-8 from the field, didn't put too much stock in the opener. He pointed to last season, when the Rockets started 15-17, then finished the regular season with a 55-27 record.

"I remember last year, it was a work in progress, and then we finally put it together," Alston said. "We've incorporated another guy on our team who can really score. We have to remind ourselves that we have to get Yao and Tracy (involved). There are things we have to work at. It's a work in progress."

The Grizzlies closed the gap to one at the end of the third despite Yao's circus shot. He flipped the ball over his head with his left hand as Gasol was grabbing his right arm. Gasol was called for a foul and Yao converted the three-point play, but the Grizzlies scored the last six points of the third quarter and trailed only 58-57.

With McGrady on the bench to start the final period, Memphis took a brief lead on Arthur's breakaway dunk.

It was short-lived as Houston went back on top on Artest's drive that made it 68-65.

The Rockets led 75-71 when Alston sank his first 3-pointer with 37.2 seconds left to finally put the game away. Houston has won 13 of its last 15 home openers.

Notes: Arthur's 15 rebounds were three shy of the Grizzlies' rookie record, set by Bryant Reeves in 1996. ... As expected, Rockets F Shane Battier sat out with inflammation in his left foot. Adelman said he was still uncertain on a timetable for Battier's return. "We're going to have to wait and see," Adelman said. "Only he can tell us." ... Gasol had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Memphis.

-- Chris Duncan