SAN ANTONIO ? After all they’ve accomplished this season, the Phoenix Suns are taking an incredibly humble goal into what could be their 2004-05 finale.

They want to win the first quarter.

Don’t laugh. The Suns have been way behind going into the second quarter of every game and they consider that a big reason why they trail the San Antonio Spurs 3-0 in the Western Conference finals heading into Game 4 tonight.

“Play a little harder in the first quarter – I think that’s the only thing we can do,” center Amare Stoudemire said Sunday. “We’ve got to do a better job of coming out strong. We’ve got to retaliate sooner or later.”

How bad have those early jitters been?

San Antonio guard Tony Parker (9) reaches for the ball as Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash tries to work toward the basket during Game 3 on Saturday in San Antonio. The Spurs take a 3-0 series lead into tonight's game against the Suns.

l The Suns have trailed by 10, 13 and 11 points during the first quarters.

l They’ve finished those quarters down by 10, 10 and nine points, continuing a trend that began in the last round against Dallas. They’ve “lost” eight straight first quarters.

No wonder coach Mike D’Antoni said with exasperation, “We just want to get to the second quarter and see what happens.”

San Antonio has taken Phoenix out of its game, mainly by cutting off the running game. The Spurs have done it by hustling back to prevent fast breaks and with the old-fashion method of putting the ball in the basket, something that’s been made easier by the Suns’ often being lazy on defense.

“I think it’s almost a relief when we get a stop and we sit and savor it instead of go, and that’s our game,” D’Antoni said. “We haven’t gotten any fast-break points, transition threes – all the things we live on. We’re just not being aggressive, not changing ends of the floor very fast.”

Down 3-0, they better hurry.

“We’ve just got to win one game right now,” Nash said. “I think that would be a huge reward for us, change the spirit of the team and the series.”