PHOENIX -- Jason Kidd came back, Tim Duncan didn't and the Phoenix Suns knocked the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs out of the NBA playoffs.

Penny Hardaway and Rodney Rogers, winner of the NBA's Sixth Man Award, scored 23 points apiece as the Suns won the best-of-five series 3-1 with an 89-78 victory Tuesday night.Rogers, who also had 10 rebounds, scored eight points and Hardaway seven in the fourth quarter as Phoenix fought off one last San Antonio challenge to advance past the first round for the first time in five years.

The Suns play the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento series in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Spurs became the first defending champion to be eliminated in the first round since the Philadelphia 76ers lost to New Jersey 3-2 in 1984. The 1998 champion Chicago Bulls failed to make the playoffs last season after Michael Jordan's retirement.

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David Robinson tried to carry the load with 21 points and 16 rebounds, but he didn't have enough help. Mario Elie was the only other San Antonio player in double figures with 12.

The Suns' Cliff Robinson missed 10 of his first 12 shots, but made two crucial outside jumpers in the fourth quarter to finish with 10 points.

Kidd, out since March 22 with a broken left ankle, looked different with his newly blond curly hair, but he played as well as ever. He started and made his made his first three shots, the last one a 3-pointer, and finished with nine points and 10 assists in 31 minutes.

Duncan, a free agent at the end of the season, might have played his last game for San Antonio. He didn't play at all in the series because of a slight ligament tear in his left knee. Duncan practiced Monday, but decided Tuesday the leg was too sore.

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