Most teams facing a 0-2 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series should feel their backs pressed firmly to the wall, and perhaps see their hopes and dreams start to fade. Hold on, though: The Phoenix Suns are down 0-2 to San Antonio in their opening-round series, but Suns fans should still feel full of hope. All that separates them from what could have been a commanding 2-0 lead is one fluke shot — Tim Duncan’s three-pointer at the end of the first overtime in Game 1; and a bad frame — the third quarter in Game 2 on Tuesday night, when the Suns were outscored 24-11 as their vaunted offense went cold.

There isn’t much to say about Saturday’s Game 1, except — wow! If the later rounds of the playoffs turn into the sort of boring routs that typified last season’s Western Conference finals, then the league should just rebroadcast the Suns’ and Spurs’ Game 1 a few times. The intensity, stellar play, and incredible shots aren’t much diminished by knowing the final outcome.

Game 2 on Tuesday night didn’t overwhelm, but it provided a simple answer to the question of who I’m rooting for: I just want the series to go seven games. These two teams have a heated rivalry, and it’s not hard to see why. There’s history — the Spurs have eliminated the Suns from the playoffs in two of the last three seasons — and bad blood. The play is typically rough and physical.

The highlight reels often focus on the hip check by Spurs forward Robert Horry against Phoenix point guard Steve Nash during Game 4 of last season’s conference semifinals. Suns forward Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the bench area, resulting in suspensions to each and changing the course, if not the outcome, of the series. But Phoenix fans often point to an event outside of the NBA as evidence of the Spurs’ malfeasance: During a game between the Argentine and Brazilian national teams a few years ago, Spurs swingman and national Argentine standout Manu Ginobili, fell (Suns fans say flopped) and rolled up on the knee of Suns guard (and Brazilian star) Leandro Barbosa. The injury cost him nearly a quarter of the following NBA season. More than a few Suns fans felt that Ginobili intentionally attempted to injure Barbosa. With that kind of background, it’s easy to see why the tension is a good bit higher than your typical NBA first-round series.

The first half of Game 2 was a battle between two unsustainable trends. The Suns led 61-54 behind an otherworldly run by Stoudemire, who scored 25 points in the first half. Meanwhile, the Spurs’ three main stars — Ginobili, Duncan, and point guard Tony Parker — had accounted for all but three of San Antonio’s points. In the third quarter, San Antonio concentrated their defense in the paint, bringing multiple defenders to keep Stoudemire from getting the ball inside, and conceding the Suns’ midrange jump shots. It worked: The Suns continued to force the ball inside leading to turnovers, and their shooters normally, a potent lot, went cold.

The strategy was a big gamble for the Spurs. Suns coach Mike D’Antoni told me a couple of years ago that his team tried to make the game a battle between his jump shooters and the other team’s outside marksmen, feeling that his team will win most of the time. Even since the acquisition of center Shaquille O’Neal, the Suns still premise much of their offense on the outside shot. But on Tuesday night, it failed them.

Meanwhile, San Antonio took advantage of Phoenix on defense to run. The Spurs are not noted as a fast-break team, but they are playing at a much faster pace in this series than they did in the regular season. It’s catching the Suns defenders by surprise. The Spurs finished with 23 fast-break points, while the normally up-tempo Suns had only four.

But what happens in Game 2 stays in Game 2. The Suns’ and Spurs’ brain trusts have been at work, altering and fixing their detrimental tendencies from the previous game. For San Antonio, they have to get more players involved in their scoring; it’s hard to win on the road with three players (you know which three) accounting for 77.1% of the team’s offense. Swingmen Michael Finley and Brent Barry have made some contributions, but the Spurs should find a way to get more shots for power forward Fabricio Oberto. He’s taken five shots in 44 minutes of action so far. But he’s a high percentage shooter with a little bit of range. He should be used to draw the Suns big men (Shaq or Stoudemire) away from the basket and open the lane for Parker and Ginobili.

The Suns will have to figure out a way to get Barbosa back into their offense. The Brazilian guard was productive in Game 1, scoring 12 points and nabbing eight rebounds. But in Game 2, he was a complete nonfactor, taking a goose egg (0-7) in shooting in 24 minutes. With Grant Hill nursing a groin strain that limited him to 20 ineffective minutes in Game 2 (one that may sideline him tomorrow night), Barbosa’s contributions will be a major key.

Even though they practically played four-on-five, the Suns nearly beat the Spurs, and back at home for two games this weekend, they should be able to even the series.