San Antonio ? Bruce Bowen has kicked Amare Stoudemire in the calf and kneed Steve Nash in the groin.

The Suns can handle that pain.

What they can’t do any longer is let Bowen – and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs – mess with their heads.

The lasting image from Game 3 Saturday was not Nash’s off night or Stoudemire’s foul trouble but an angry Mike D’Antoni crumpling up the box score at his post-game press conference and uttering these words: “If that’s the way everybody wants it, we’ll play that way, too.”

It was a macho response to the Spurs’ physical and sometimes bullying style, but here’s the problem: When it comes to that kind of game, San Antonio is a heavyweight and the Suns are a bunch of lightweights.

Phoenix does have some tough guys. Raja Bell is as physical and as proud as any defender in the league. (Just ask Kobe Bryant). Kurt Thomas won’t give an inch. Stoudemire’s whole life has been a fight.

It’s just that the Suns aren’t built for hand-to-hand combat. And as much as it might seem wise – and courageous – to answer a knee to the groin with a shot to the head, all that does is play into the Spurs’ hands.

They want to make this series an alley fight, and they’ll be more than happy if the Suns meet them there.

Now, does that mean the Suns should turn the other cheek when Bowen’s knee conveniently finds Nash’s groin? Of course not. Playoff basketball is a test of toughness as much as it is an affirmation of talent.

Phoenix has to play hard and it has to be strong, both physically and mentally.

“We know how they want to play us. It’s going to be up to us to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘Hey, let’s just play,”‘ D’Antoni said. “We’re going to have to take it to them. We’re going to have to be aggressive. We’re going to have to be smart. We’re going to have to be mentally tough. That’s why they put champion beside your name if you can do that. That’s what we’re going to try to do. Whatever it takes, we’ll do it.”

That’s fine, to a point. Phoenix won’t win a title if it allows sand to be kicked into its face.

What the Suns can’t do, however, is get so fueled by testosterone they forget who they are or how they got here.

And that’s what happened Saturday.

Nash spent much of the game complaining to officials that Bowen was slapping at his arms.

Did he have a case?

Yes.

Did his arguing do any good?

No.

Did it throw him off his game?

Seemed to, didn’t it?

D’Antoni was upset by Bowen’s tactics and the swallowed whistles. Thus, his post-game call to arms.

It was a noble gesture, but the wrong one.

Phoenix needs to shut up and play.

It needs to run, it needs to rebound and it has to quit focusing on things it can’t control.

“Now you’re caught up in a whining war and not just playing,” Bowen said.