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Steve Nash can thank Goran Dragic for being a more than capable replacement when he takes his rest on the bench.

Dragic, despite flying under the radar, has acquitted himself well during the current best-of-seven series between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns, performing well in the minutes that he has provided the Suns.

The Suns, during their game Friday night against the Spurs at AT&T Center, shot quite well, shooting 53 percent from the floor; however, Dragic proved to be huge as he scored 23 fourth-quarter points, allowing Phoenix to rout San Antonio 110-96 and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

For the second straight game, the Spurs blew a big lead; the Suns trailed 39-21 early in the second quarter while missing 13 of their first 21 shots. As has been the case this series, that scoring drought wouldn’t last.

Dragic would take over in the fourth quarter as his layup on Phoenix’s second possession of the period put the Suns ahead 73-72 and gave them their first lead of the game. Leandro Barbosa drained a three-pointer two possessions later to give the Suns a four-point lead, pushing Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to call a timeout.

The brief respite did San Antonio little good as the Suns outscored the Spurs 39-24 in the final quarter and shot 71 percent from the field.

Dragic led the Suns scorers with 26 points (including 5 three-pointers), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block while Jason Richardson added 21 (including 5 treys) with 3 rebounds and 2 steals; Grant Hill chipped in 18 with 3 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals while Nash poured in 16 with 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

The Spurs were led by Manu Ginobili with 27 points (including 4 three-pointers), a rebound, 5 assists and 3 steals while Tim Duncan added 15 with 13 rebounds, an assist, a steal and 3 blocks; Antonio McDyess notched a double-double, scoring 12 while grabbing 10 rebounds.

Game 4 between Phoenix and San Antonio takes place on Sunday night from AT&T Center.