PHOENIX (AP) -- Johnny Estrada's big offensive day will force him to take some extra rest.
Estrada hit three doubles, drove in a run and scored twice and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 for their seventh straight win.
Estrada doubled home the tying run in the second inning, then later in the inning came home with what proved to be the decisive run.
"I got some good pitches to hit and was able to get the bat on some," Estrada said.
However, he tweaked a quad injury that he's been battling since fouling a pitch off his leg against San Diego about two weeks ago. Estrada, who raised his average to .321, will sit out the series finale Sunday in favor of Chris Snyder and then get a second day off with Arizona idle on Monday.
"He's got that upper quad and every time he hits a ball in the gap it seems to be barking on him," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "It seems like just when it gets better, he hits another ball in the gap."
Estrada's hitting made a winner of Claudio Vargas, who rebounded from first-inning struggles to record his second consecutive home win.
Vargas (4-1) allowed an inside-the-park home run to Felipe Lopez in the first and walked the bases full. But he struck out Brandon Phillips to cap the 42-pitch inning trailing only 1-0.
"After that I controlled the ball like I'm supposed to," Vargas said. "I said, 'Here's my best stuff. Hit it."'
Beginning with Phillips, Vargas retired 16 of the final 19 batters he faced. He allowed one run on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
"In the first inning we really had a chance to do something," Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron said. "We were one hit away from doing some damage early."
Jose Valverde, the fourth Arizona pitcher, pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 10 tries.
Arizona remained in a first place tie with Colorado in the NL West.
Bronson Arroyo (5-1) allowed two runs in the second and another in the fourth in his first loss of the season. The Reds retained their half-game lead in the NL Central with Houston's 5-0 loss at Colorado.
Conor Jackson led off the second with a double to left and scored on Estrada's first double, a line drive into the right-field corner, to tie the game 1-1. Estrada later scored on a two-out RBI single by Craig Counsell for a 2-1 lead.
The Diamondbacks made it 3-1 in the fourth when Estrada doubled, went to third on a single by Orlando Hudson and scored on a Craig Counsell groundout to second.
Arroyo allowed three runs on a career-worst 11 hits with one walk and one strikeout.
"Sometimes you pitch better that your line shows," Arroyo said. "This was one of those nights that I pitched worse than my line looked. I felt like I had decent stuff but those guys had a great approach against me. They were on my stuff better than anyone has been this year."
Lopez's home run came when his line drive hit a padded column in left-center field and bounced away from center fielder Jeff DaVanon.
The Reds have been held to one run in each of their last two games.
"We've got a good hitting ball club," Narron said. "We're going to start scoring some runs. We just haven't put it together in the last week or so."
Notes: Estrada became the 10th Arizona player to hit three doubles in a game and the second this season. Chad Tracy also hit three doubles on April 22 at Los Angeles. ... Lopez's inside-the-park homer was the Reds' first since Ken Griffey Jr.'s game-ending homer August 20, 2001, at Cinergy Field off St. Louis' Alan Benes. It was the third inside-the-park homer in Chase Field's nine-year history. ... DaVanon singled in the first to snap an 0-for-17 skid.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Kevin Harvick was the driver to beat, even Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew that.
But when Harvick made his only mistake of the entire weekend, Earnhardt pounced. It put him back into Victory Lane for the first time this season, and proved that his team has truly turned around after struggling through all of last year.
"For 80 percent of that race, Kevin Harvick had the best car," Earnhardt said after winning the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night.
"I made a charge on him, but I sort of conceded the win to him and was just going to race for second."
Harvick, who led 272 of the 400 laps, was racing for his second weekend sweep of the season. He won the Busch Series race on Friday night, just hours after announcing he had signed a three-year extension with Richard Childress Racing.
But one bad pit call ruined it.
Harvick decided not to stop during the eighth caution of the race, while Earnhardt and the other contenders all ducked in for fresh tires. The ramifications were obvious less than 40 laps later when several cars were right on Harvick's bumper.
Denny Hamlin, Earnhardt and Kyle Busch all blew past him, and Harvick never led again.
Busch was out front after taking the lead following another round of pit stops, but he couldn't hold off Earnhardt and Hamlin, who both raced their way past him with 44 laps to go.
Earnhardt then held off Hamlin for several more restarts to snap his 27-race winless streak. Coming off the worst season of his career, this victory proves just how far his team has come since missing out on the Chase for the championship last year.
"I think we are there," he said. "We keep taking our shots, but we're pretty competitive and I'm real proud of the team I got," he said. "Everything is working really great. I couldn't ask for any position on this team to be any better.
"I'm just glad to be back in Victory Lane. It feels really great."
Long overdue for a win, he celebrated his 17th career Nextel Cup victory and third at Richmond with perfect doughnuts along the frontstetch, spinning his No. 8 Chevrolet until it was engulfed in thick, white smoke and his tire had exploded.
Earnhardt won last July in Chicago -- his only victory of 2005 -- but backed into the win because of fuel strategy. It was the lone highlight in a season of turmoil: He finished 19th in the final standings and was never a contender.
But he has reunited with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. this season, and the two had made quiet strides with a handful of solid finishes this season.
Now he's got a win, and it moved him up two spots in the standings to sixth. He trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 216 points.
"We're having fun and we're finally winning some races," Earnhardt said. "This is a great deal for our team."
Hamlin, driving with his hand heavily bandaged after he needed 19 stitches to close a gash he received "horseplaying" with his crew, finished second. Although he won the season-opening exhibition race in Daytona, the Chesterfield, Va., native cherished this finish in front of a hometown crowd more.
"This is by far the biggest race of my career," he gushed. "It's awesome, I can't tell you how I feel. I'm going to ride this wave for months."
Earnhardt admitted he wanted Hamlin, one of his closer friends in the Nextel Cup Series, to win.
"A little part of me wanted to see him get the win," Earnhardt said. "He's a great driver and he's going to win a lot of races."
Harvick was extremely disappointed with his third-place finish.
"Just got tight," he shrugged.
Greg Biffle, plagued with bad luck all season, finished a season-best fourth.
"I'm so excited -- I'm going to celebrate like it's a victory," Biffle said. "I tell you what -- it's like I won even though I didn't get the trophy."
Busch, who turned 21 earlier this week, was fifth and defending series champion Tony Stewart was sixth. Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Sterling Marlin and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10.
Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, both in the top 10 in the standings, had their races ruined by mechanical failures.
Kenseth went out before the first 100 laps when his oil tank broke and he spent considerable time in the garage getting it fixed. He was almost 50 laps off the pace when he returned to the track, and nursed his Ford home to a 39th-place finish. He's third in the standings after starting the race only 21 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
Gordon's troubles were in his engine and came shortly after the halfway point. Gordon, who was in 13th place when his engine sputtered, needed extensive work and wound up finishing 40th.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Sidney Lowe has never forgotten the night he helped North Carolina State and Jim Valvano pull off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. Nearly two decades later, he's returning home with hopes of helping the Wolfpack experience some of that magic again. N.C. State hired the Detroit Pistons' assistant as its head basketball coach Saturday, bringing the former Wolfpack player back to the school he led to that improbable 1983 title under the late Valvano. And Lowe wasted little time embracing that tradition, from talking about "those glory days" to pumping his fists at teammates from that title team who attended a news conference to announce his hiring. "This is definitely a dream come true for me," said Lowe, who wore a black suit and a red N.C. State tie. It seemed as though it was the perfect time for the 46-year-old Lowe -- who has no college coaching experience -- to get the job and end the monthlong search that missed out on its top targets. Herb Sendek left last month for Arizona State after 10 seasons marked by steady improvement, yet Wolfpack fans grew discontent at the end of his tenure with the program's Princeton-style offense and its inability to beat instate powers Duke and North Carolina. Hiring Lowe brings back a significant figure from one of the biggest moments in N.C. State's history. He was the point guard on the team that upset Houston and Hakeem Olajuwon on a last-second dunk by Lorenzo Charles in the 1983 final, and ranks second among the school's assist leaders and third in steals. Now Lowe is talking about letting his players have fun in an up-tempo offense and chasing after the top-tier recruits that seemed earmarked for those rivals just down the road -- exactly the kind of things Wolfpack fans are yearning to hear. "I'm here to try to do something even a little more, and it's nothing against anyone else," he said. "We're in the right direction. We just want to continue to grow and go a little further in the tournament and do a little better. That's what you're here for. That's what you set out to do." Lowe will continue working with the Pistons through the rest of the playoffs before starting work here July 1. Larry Harris, an assistant coach who had left with Sendek, will return to the Wolfpack and lead the program in the interim. Lowe played four seasons in the NBA before moving on to coaching, rising to become the head coach at Minnesota and Memphis. He has a career record of 79-228 and resigned at Memphis after the team's 0-8 start in the 2002-03 season. "I have mixed feelings about it," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who has had Lowe at his side in the NBA for many years. "It's almost like a parent when the kid is leaving the nest for the first time." Lowe will have plenty of studying to do before taking the job. In addition to learning the lengthy list of NCAA rules, Lowe is still working to complete his undergraduate work in business administration at St. Pauls College in Lawrenceville, Va. Lowe said Saturday that he is three courses short and expects to finish in June. The hiring ends a lengthy search for N.C. State. The Wolfpack's top two targets -- Texas' Rick Barnes and Memphis' John Calipari -- reportedly turned down offers of about $2 million a year to replace Sendek, who went 191-132 here. Last week, two more men linked to the job -- former UCLA coach and TV analyst Steve Lavin, and West Virginia coach John Beilein -- issued statements saying they would remain in their current positions. Athletics director Lee Fowler said he was interested in Lowe from the start and the two maintained contact throughout the process. He said Lowe became a serious candidate about 10 days ago, and said Lowe's NBA experience would be an asset when trying to lure recruits to Raleigh. "They like the idea that the guy's been in the pros and they like the idea that he knows what it takes to get to that level," Fowler said. "So I think he will be a home run in recruiting." Sendek's run of five straight NCAA tournaments tied Valvano for the best in school history. But Sendek was criticized by some Wolfpack fans in recent seasons despite that success, often for the program's motion offense and 8-38 record against Duke and North Carolina. Lowe's return has Wolfpack players and fans hoping for more. "He told us he wanted us to be free and have fun," said sophomore Gavin Grant, an athletic 6-foot-7 swingman. "[Sendek] wasn't focused on having fun. He was more focused on we've got to win and it was this way or no way at all. "In the Princeton offense, I don't think that offense fit me and a couple of other guys on the team as best we could. Now that we have a coach that understands where we're coming from and played a little bit like some of us here, things should be a lot better around here."

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Brett Favre is back.
And so, it seems, are the questions about his future beyond this season.
Despite comments earlier in the offseason that there was "no doubt" his potential return to the Green Bay Packers would be for only one more season, Favre said Saturday that he wasn't so sure.
"I know I said that," Favre said Saturday, in his first public comments since telling the Packers he would return for another year. "But I hope you guys will respect me. I'm going to play this year, give it my best and not talk about it."
Favre said the constant speculation surrounding his football future -- much of which has been propelled by his own public comments on the subject -- has become a distraction for the team.
"It's been a distraction not only for me but for I think the guys I played with in the past, and I'm not going to talk about it this year," he said.
In a half-hour session with reporters, Favre admitted he doesn't know whether his decision to return was the right one. But Favre said he also would have questions if he had decided to retire.
Favre knows athletes nearing the end of their careers can risk their legacies by playing on despite retirement being a viable option. Others choose to quit when they could have played effectively for a few more years.
"Where do I fall in? I don't know, and don't care," he said. "The Packers still want me, I want to be back."
Favre threw a career-worst 29 interceptions last season and the Packers went 4-12, the team's first losing season since he became its quarterback.
"I'm going to take chances," he said. "And there's going to be people who agree with that and there's going to be people who don't agree with it. And I really don't care."
Favre doesn't plan to change his style of play at this stage of his career.
"My desire and my commitment is why I'm here," he said. "Not my footwork, not my mechanics, not arm strength or decision making. It's my desire to win. I want to win more than anyone else. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and sometimes it's not pretty."
New Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he wants Favre to keep playing aggressively, but only when the time is right.
"It's important for him to play within the realm of the offense, which I think he always has,' McCarthy said. "And I've said it over and over again, when you're calling plays, the play caller and the quarterback have got to be on the same page. You've got to know when to push the envelope, when to pull back."
Favre said many of last year's interceptions came when the Packers were trailing in games and, because of mounting injuries, Favre was playing with young players with whom he wasn't familiar.
"Maybe I should have made some different decisions at times, but we had to try to win the ballgame with whoever was in there," Favre said.
Interceptions aside, Favre's return is a boost for his teammates. Had he not come back, the team likely would have started last year's first-round draft pick, Aaron Rodgers, at quarterback.
"I don't have to ever worry about anything, because I know when the time comes, I'm going to be that guy that's going to be getting the ball," receiver Donald Driver said. "I would have had worries if he wasn't here. You never know how the system works then."
Favre may have hastened the departure of disgruntled receiver Javon Walker when he publicly criticizing Walker's threats to hold out for a new contract last year. Walker was traded on draft day.
"We could sure use him," Favre said of Walker. "Any team could use him. But I don't regret the things I said. And I stand by that."
Favre reiterated several times on Saturday that he never considered asking to be traded to another team in the offseason.
"I know there was a lot of talk about being traded or wanting to play for another team," Favre said. "That never, I've told you guys that over and over again that I didn't want to play for another team, and that's the truth. And never once did I mention [a] trade. This is where I wanted to be the whole time."
But does he still want the ball with 2 minutes left and the game on the line?
"I'm here," Favre said Saturday. "I didn't pull too many out last year, but I gave it my damnedest, and that's all I can do this year. But if I didn't want the ball, believe me, I wouldn't be here."

INCHEON, South Korea (AP) -- Michelle Wie shot a 2-over 74 Sunday to finish out of title contention at the shortened SK Telecom Open, where she made the cut in a men's tournament for the first time.
The Hawaiian-born teenager had two birdies and four bogeys at the Sky 72 Golf Club course for a 54-hole, 3-under 213 -- 12 strokes behind winner Prom Meesawat of Thailand (68).
"I did my best, but the result was not as satisfying as I would have liked," said the 16-year-old Wie said. "But the most important thing is that I tried my best."
Indian Jeev Milkha and Lee Seung-ho of South Korea shot final rounds of 70 to share second place at 12-under, one stroke ahead of defending champion K.J. Choi (65).
Heavy rain and strong winds forced the cancellation of the third round of the Asian Tour event, which was shortened from 72 holes. Wie was at the tee when the rain hit Saturday. After a delay of almost 3 hours, the course was declared unplayable.
Wie shot a 3-under 69 in the second round Friday to make the cut by five strokes and improve on her opening 70. She started the final round at 3 under, six strokes off the pace.
"I was really, really happy I've passed the first stage," Wie said. "Now I want to make the next step."
Wie heads to the U.S. Open qualifying round in Hawaii later this month. She will attempt to make the cut in two PGA tournaments -- the John Deere Classic in July, where last year she fell two strokes short of the cut, and September's 84 Lumber Classic.
The SK Telecom Open was Wie's eighth men's event. She has played in four PGA Tour events and has competed on the Japan, Nationwide and Canadian tours, missing the 36-hole cut in all seven tournaments. No woman has made the cut on the PGA Tour since Babe Zaharias at the 1945 Tucson Open.
Wie became the second woman to make the cut at a men's tournament in South Korea. LPGA star Se Ri Pak tied for 10th in the lower-tier KPGA Tour SBS Pro-Golf Championship in 2003.
Annika Sorenstam, the world's top female player, became the first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour when she missed the cut at the Colonial in 2003, shooting rounds of 71 and 74.
Wie opened her final round confidently Sunday, with birdies on the second and third holes, moving her to 7 under in early play despite high winds that sent her early shots wide of the fairways and greens.
Two bogeys later and she was back where she started.
On No. 4, Wie added a penalty stroke when her tee shot fell short of the green and rolled back across a hazard line within feet of the water. She then watched her 8-foot putt lip out on No. 5 and swung her club in frustration after forcing herself into a two-putt finish on No. 9.
The sweltering heat did little to help matters, and Wie went on to bogey the 11th and 15th.
Wie's parents were born in South Korea and her visit here has been treated like a homecoming by the local media and public, who formed galleries of thousands and clogged an expressway Friday to catch her play.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Oscar De La Hoya went into the ring Saturday night knowing he might only be a few minutes away from the end of his lucrative career. He left as a champion who might want to rethink his retirement plans after turning in his most impressive performance in years. Fighting for the first time in 20 months, the Golden Boy dominated Ricardo Mayorga, knocking down the Nicaraguan brawler in the first round before finally stopping him in the sixth to claim the WBC's 154-pound title. Showing no signs of rust or reluctance, the 33-year-old De La Hoya flattened Mayorga in the opening minute and never let up, unleashing waves of punishing head shots until Mayorga went down for the third time at 1:25 of the sixth. De La Hoya then jumped onto the ropes with the flair of a champ who was back in his element once again. "No matter what, I was going to stand up to him, let him know right away that I was here to fight," De La Hoya said. "I had to show the bully that I wasn't going to back down. He fought recklessly, but I stood my ground, and he saw I wouldn't back down." From the opening shots to the fantastic final flurry, it was the best fight for De La Hoya since he stopped Fernando Vargas four years ago, and a near-perfect result in what De La Hoya claims will be his penultimate fight. De La Hoya has said he wants to finish his career Sept. 16 -- and after this performance, there's a genuine chance of a tantalizing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., the world's top pound-for-pound fighter whose father trains De La Hoya. Mayweather watched De La Hoya's dominance from ringside, then said he wants the September fight, calling it "the biggest fight in boxing history." "If Oscar wants to go out on top being the best, I believe on Sept. 16 we must meet," Mayweather said. "It's about legacy." But Floyd Mayweather Sr., who devised De La Hoya's precise plan to stop Mayorga, doesn't think he could stomach such a fight -- and De La Hoya, who said there's still "a good chance" he might retire, won't take the bout without his trainer. "I don't feel good about that at all," Mayweather Sr. said. "What kind of father am I if I let my son get knocked out? I'm not saying my son can't win the fight, because he can ... but if I've got anything to do with it, and I have a lot to do with it, it ain't going to happen." De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) clearly hadn't lost his passion for the ring since Bernard Hopkins stopped him in the ninth round with a devastating body punch in September 2004. Spurred by Mayorga's pre-fight insults toward his family and courage, he overwhelmed the wild-punching Mayorga with clinical right hands and a handful of devastating left hooks, stalking him around the ring and controlling nearly every moment of the fight. He sent Mayorga to the canvas just 60 seconds in, artfully ducking a wild punch and responding with a strong right and a brutal left hook. The crowd stood, and De La Hoya cast a disdainful glance over his shoulder as he walked to the neutral corner. The fight got no better for Mayorga (27-6-1), with De La Hoya's tactical precision -- using his right hand with uncommon grace -- and surprising power taking a quick toll. De La Hoya knocked him down again in the sixth, when a glassy-eyed Mayorga stayed momentarily on his wobbly feet before finally going down for good. De La Hoya also went to the canvas when referee Jay Nady pushed him away from his fallen opponent, but he sprung up to climb the ropes in triumph. De La Hoya chose Mayorga as his comeback opponent partly because of the chain-smoking, beer-swilling Nicaraguan's reputation for reckless behavior in and out of the ring. During their pre-fight publicity tour, El Matador wore bullfighting outfits and repeatedly insulted his opponent, questioning everything from his heritage to his sexuality. "In the beginning, the way he was talking about my wife and my son, he motivated me to go right at him," De La Hoya said. "He was going to talk dirty, and that was the motivation I needed to get myself up for this fight." The crowd of 13,076 at the MGM Grand Garden clearly favored De La Hoya, chanting his name and booing Mayorga. The fighters didn't touch gloves beforehand, but the beaten Mayorga was humble. "You are a great champion," Mayorga said to De La Hoya. "You are a great fighter. I apologize for everything I said to you." "I forgive you," De La Hoya replied. De La Hoya hadn't fought since losing to Hopkins. He remembered being face-down, punching the canvas in pain and embarrassment when the champion's liver-bruising shot stopped him for the first time in his career -- and he couldn't allow that fight to be his farewell to the sport. But many wondered whether De La Hoya could ever come back from that shot -- or even if he should. With two losses in his last three fights, he risked a tedious end to a stellar career. M

PHOENIX (AP)
-- The Phoenix Suns scheduled a news conference for Sunday to announce that Steve Nash is the NBA's MVP for the second year in a row.
The announcement of the 1:30 p.m. EST news conference did not specify the reason, but Suns officials confirmed it was to present the award to Nash.
The Arizona Republic reported earlier that Nash would get the award, becoming the 10th player to win it in consecutive seasons.
The award is determined by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
Nash, 32, won his first MVP award last season, when he directed the Suns to an NBA-best 62 victories. This year, the Suns lost Amare Stoudemire to injury, and traded away Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson.
This season, Nash had career highs in scoring (18.8 points), rebounding (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free throw percentage (a league-leading .921). He led the league in assists at 10.5 per game and finished sixth in 3-point percentage at 43.9.
"Any time you sit back and think about just winning it once, it's mind-boggling -- the company and what it means in the history of the game," Nash said after the Republic broke the news. "To win it twice obviously just compounds that. It's just an incredible honor."
Nash was drafted by Phoenix as the No. 15 pick overall out of Santa Clara in 1996. Two years later, with Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd playing ahead of him, he asked for a trade and was sent to Dallas. The deal included the draft choice that the Suns used to get Shawn Marion.
The Suns signed Nash to a five-year, $65 million contract in 2004, a deal Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban wouldn't match.

PHOENIX (AP) -- The Phoenix Suns went from the brink to a blowout, from the edge of elimination to one of the most impressive turnarounds in NBA playoff history.
So much for the nail-biting suspense of a Game 7. The fast, feisty Suns won in a 121-90 laugher over the listless Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
Leandro Barbosa led the layup parade with a career playoff-best 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting and the Suns became the eighth team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 3-1.
"I am going to steal a line from Disney and say it's a small world after all," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I guess small guys can play. That's about as good as we could play. Every one of our guys, I can't pick out one, all of them had an amazing game."
That all-L.A. second-round series that looked so probable a few days ago vanished in a blur of Suns' fast breaks and repeated drives to the basket.
Instead, the Clippers will come to Phoenix for Game 1 of the second-round series on Monday night.
"It's a shame we couldn't have given them a better game," said the Lakers' Phil Jackson, who lost a first-round series for the first time in his coaching career.
Kobe Bryant scored 24 points of 8-of-16 shooting, but the rest of the Lakers starters were 17-for-50. Bryant scored only one point and took just three shots in the second half.
"If we were going to get back in this type of game, we have to have everybody contributing," Bryant explained.
He said his team played about as well as it could in taking its 3-1 series lead, then couldn't keep up when the Suns found their footing.
"They just have a lot of talent over there," Bryant said, "a lot of firepower. They stepped up to the challenge and kept coming at us in waves. We just didn't have enough in the tank to hold on."
The Brazilian Barbosa and Frenchman Boris Diaw led the way. Diaw had 21 points and nine assists as seven Suns scored in double figures. Phoenix's turnaround can be traced directly to the improved play of Barbosa and Diaw.
"Tonight, Boris and Leandro were our best players," Steve Nash said. "The two guys that people said were disappointing in the beginning of the series, I think they are accustomed to the series now and they lost their virginity, so to speak, in the seventh game."
Nash, who had 13 points and nine assists, sprained his right ankle late in the first half and was not as nimble as usual after that.
"It is the same ankle I tweaked a couple of months ago and the swelling went down finally just a week ago," he said. "It is encouraging that I could move around on it the second half, and with a day and a half of rest, I think it will be fine for Monday."
Shawn Marion had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.
Raja Bell returned to a hero's welcome from a one-game suspension for throwing Bryant to the floor in Game 5. He scored 13 points and drew three offensive fouls against Bryant.
"We've got bigger fish to fry now," Bell quipped, a reference to Bryant's derisive comments about him after a regular-season game.
Jackson lost for the first time in 45 series where his team had the lead.
The Lakers -- after losing 126-118 in overtime at home in Game 6 Thursday night -- barely offered resistance Saturday night, cutting the lead to single digits only once after falling behind 28-13 in front of a raucous packed house.
The Suns started the first quarter with a 16-6 run and ended it with a 12-2 spurt. They made 14 of 20 shots for 70 percent, while the Lakers were a bumbling 6-for-20.
With the Suns leading 20-13, Barbosa sank a 13-footer and a layup, then dished off to Marion for a stuff in an 8-0 surge that put Phoenix ahead 28-13 with 1:15 left in the first.
After Kwame Brown, who was 1-for-5 in the first quarter, made two free throws, Bell made a 20-footer and Barbosa two free throws to put Phoenix ahead 32-15 after one.
Barbosa's layup to start the second quarter made it 34-15. Bryant cut the lead to single digits, 45-36, with a 3-pointer 6:21 before halftime. But Bell followed with a 3, then Bryant was called for an offensive foul. Replays showed Bryant elbowed Bell to the face, the kind of play the Suns' guard had complained about throughout the series.
Tim Thomas' stuff with 5:32 remaining in the half put Phoenix ahead 50-36.
Bryant's 21-footer as the shot clock expired cut the lead to 50-40, but the Suns scored the next six with Diaw's two free throws making it 56-40 with 51 seconds to go.
Nash left the court with a slight limp after stepping on Marion's foot on the play but returned in the second half.
Bryant made a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, then Diaw sank a 20-footer with 1.1 seconds to play and Phoenix led 60-45 at the break.
Notes: The Clippers and Suns split their season series 2-2. ... Barbosa scored 48 in the final two games of the series. ... Brown finished 2-for-10 shooting. ... The Lakers' Smush Parker was 7-for-37 shoot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The unbeaten horse stumbled out of the gate. The reluctant hero kept his cool. "Good horses make good riders and good horses make good trainers," Michael Matz said. They also make good stories, and this certainly is one. A hard-charging Barbaro galloped into the lead at the top of the stretch and won the Kentucky Derby by a stunning 6� lengths Saturday, giving Matz his first Derby victory and jockey Edgar Prado his first winning ride. The trainer's joyous day came nearly 17 years after he led three children to safety within minutes after United Airlines flight 232 from Denver to Chicago cartwheeled down a runway, caught fire and skidded to a stop in an Iowa cornfield. The two brothers and their sister, now grown, joined Matz in the grandstand at Churchill Downs, where they cheered the strapping bay colt onto his sixth consecutive win. "There's always anxious moments, but Edgar's ridden him beautifully every time," Matz said. Given a masterful ride by Prado, the Barbaro beat a full field of 20 3-year-olds -- considered one of the toughest in years. With Sinister Minister and Keyed Entry setting the pace, Barbaro settled in right outside the leaders after his brief stumble out of the No. 8 gate. He made his powerful move around the far turn, just as he had in winning his first five races. And even though he was making only his first start in five weeks, the Florida Derby winner had plenty left in the tank as he lengthened his lead over runner-up Bluegrass Cat and helped Prado into the winner's circle on his seventh try. After the horse righted himself after the stumble, Prado said, "I was very confident and it was just a matter of time when I could turn him loose. And when I turned him loose, he was like a rocket. "I didn't have any doubt about the kind of horse he is." Steppenwolfer was third, and there was a dead heat for fourth between Brother Derek and Jazil. Barbaro became the sixth undefeated winner, following Smarty Jones in 2004. Trainer Bob Baffert had three horses in the field, but failed in his attempt to win his fourth Derby: Point Determined was ninth, Sinister Minister was 16th and Bob and John was 17th. Sent off as the 6-1 second choice by the crowd of 157,536 -- the second largest in Derby history -- Barbaro covered the 11/4 miles in 2:01.36, well off Secretariat's record of 1:59 2/5 in 1973. The margin of victory was the largest since Assault won by a record-tying eight lengths in 1946. There other Derby winners won by eight lengths. The son of Dynaformer, owned by Gretchen and Roy Jackson's Lael Farm, returned $14.20, $8 and $6. Bluegrass Cat, trained by Todd Pletcher, returned $28.40 and $15.40. Steppenwolfer paid $7.80 to show. Showing Up was sixth, followed by Sweetnorthernsaint, the surprise 5-1 favorite, Deputy Glitters, Point Determined, Seaside Retreat, Storm Treasure, Lawyer Ron, Cause to Believe, Flashy Bull, Private Vow, Sinister Minister, Bob and John, A.P. Warrior, Sharp Humor and Keyed Entry. Barbaro earned $1,453,200 to boost his career earnings to $2,302,200. If Barbaro goes on to win the Preakness in two weeks, the stage would be set for a fourth Triple Crown try in the past five years at the Belmont Stakes on June 10. War Emblem in 2002, Funny Cide in '03 and Smarty Jones in '04 each won the Derby and Preakness, but came up short in the last race. "He's a very nice horse," Prado said, "and hopefully we can win a Triple Crown." All week, Matz patiently answered questions about the crash of the DC-10 that killed 111 of the 296 passengers and crew members. He led the two brothers and their sister, who were traveling without their parents, away from the burning wreckage. D.D. Alexander, Matz's fiancee at the time and now his wife, also survived and the two stayed with the children until their parents arrived.
 He's a very nice horse, and hopefully we can win a Triple Crown. -- Barbaro jockey Edgar Prado
Matz and another passenger then went back inside the plane after hearing the cries of a baby and pulled the infant out of a luggage compartment. "I think Michael is one of those rare people who does amazing things and doesn't showboat or take a lot of credit," Melissa Radcliffe, now 29 and one of the children Matz saved, said earlier this week. "In the plane crash, we knew him but we had no idea he was an Olympic equestrian rider. He said he was just a guy who likes horses." The 55-year-old Matz was an equestrian show jumping superstar for years before turning to training, competing in three Olympics between 1976 and 1996 and carrying the U.S. flag at the closing ceremony in Atlanta. Matz left the sport in 2000 as show jumping's all-time money leader with $1.7 million, and was inducted into show jumping's Hall of Fame on April 1 -- the same day Barbaro won the Florida Derby. Until Barbaro came around, Matz' best horse was Kicken Kris, who won 2004 Arlington Million. Matz t