PHOENIX, Arizona (AFP) -- The San Antonio Spurs left the Phoenix Suns bloodied and beaten Sunday as they seized the lead in their National Basketball Association Western Conference semifinal series.

Steve Nash suffered a bleeding gash on his nose in a fourth-quarter collision, and his absence from the floor cost the Suns as they failed to execute down the stretch of a 111-106 loss to the Spurs in game one of the best-of-seven second-round series.

Tim Duncan had 33 points and 16 rebounds and Tony Parker added 32 and eight assists for the third-seeded Spurs, who have now won their last five playoff games in Phoenix dating to 2003. "We'd rather play in the 80s or 90s (points scored). That's our type of game," Duncan said. "But we've got a lot of guys that are shooting the ball well, we're moving the ball well and the points are going up on the board."

The contrast in styles between the run-and-gun Suns and the defensive-minded Spurs produced another thrilling contest. There were eight lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter.

The key moment came midway through the period, when Nash and Parker collided headfirst. "I know we hit our heads really hard," Nash said. "He looked like he was really hurting so I just wanted to make sure he was OK." "I thought I was bleeding," Parker said. "I thought my cut was open because I was the one trying to move forward."

Parker stayed on the floor for a moment and ended up with a swollen bruise on his forehead. Nash had a gash across the bridge of his nose that would not stop bleeding despite treatment at nearly every break in the game.

He required six stitches afterward. "It was just a big gash apparently and wide and deep and we couldn't get it to stop bleeding and there wasn't a lot of time left so we didn't think we had time to go in and stitch it up, so we tried to manage it," Nash said. "But it was too long and too deep."

Between changes of the bandage, the two-time MVP kept the Suns in the game. He scored seven straight points for Phoenix, including a 3-pointer that forged a 102-102 tie with 2:23 to play.

Duncan made a tough one-handed shot in the lane and Parker drilled a jumper before Nash responded with a scoop layup to cut the deficit to 106-104 with 1:13 remaining.

"He's a trooper by getting back in there and making some plays," Duncan said.

The Suns got back the ball with a chance to tie, but coach Mike D'Antoni substituted for Nash, who again needed to have the bleeding staunched. Without the superstar point guard on the floor, Phoenix missed a pair of shots before guard Leandro Barbosa committed a needless foul with 32 seconds to play. "We definitely needed him out there," Suns center Amare Stoudemire said. "He's one of our leaders."

San Antonio's Manu Ginobili split a pair of free throws before Amare Stoudemire sank a pair for Phoenix, making it 107-106 with 26 seconds left.

On the next possession, Barbosa fouled Parker before the ball was inbounded, allowing Michael Finley to go to the line for another free throw.

Ginobili added another for a 109-106 lead, and Stoudemire missed a layup as the Suns hopes faded. "I'd like to think we would have had a shot (with me in there)," Nash said. "It's pretty bad timing to not be able to go back in the game but that's life." "I guess the refs thought there was too much blood or whatever," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, referring to the NBA rule that bars players from the floor if they are bleeding. "It would have been great if he had been allowed to play. ... If we had to take Tim Duncan out at the end or someone like him, we'd feel the effects, too."