The scene tonight at US Airways Center figures to include more drama than a typical NBA playoff game.

Tuesday's denouncement of Arizona's controversial new immigration law by the Suns' managing partner swung a political spotlight onto his team as it prepared to resume its Western Conference semifinal series against the San Antonio Spurs.

Robert Sarver decided - with unanimous support from his players - that the Suns would wear their "Los Suns" jerseys for Game 2 tonight on Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday.

The gesture, which came with the blessing of the NBA and the league's players union, reflects Sarver's belief that passing Senate Bill 1070 was not "the right way to handle the immigration problem, Number 1," he said. "Number 2, as I read through the bill, it felt to me a little bit like it was mean-spirited, and I personally just don't agree with it."

Arizona sports teams and events have become targets for protests and calls for boycotts since SB 1070 was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer on April 23.

The law makes it a state crime to be in Arizona without proper documents and requires local police to check the legal status of suspected undocumented immigrants.

Sarver's decision is the first time a state sports entity has taken a public stand on the law, which is scheduled to go into effect in about 90 days.

"We think it's appropriate what the Suns are doing," NBA Commissioner David Stern told nba.com in Orlando.

The players union applauded the Suns' move, saying in a statement Tuesday that Arizona's new law is "disappointing and disturbing."

General Manager Steve Kerr said the Suns are prepared for a backlash but felt it was their "duty" to address a national issue during the nationally televised platform of the NBA playoffs.

"It's hard to imagine in this country that we have to produce papers," Kerr said. "It rings up images of Nazi Germany. We understand that the intentions of the law are not for that to happen, but you have to be very, very careful. . . . It's important that everyone in our state and nation understands this is an issue that needs to be explored. So, we're trying to expose it."

Not surprisingly, Suns fans were divided over Sarver's decision.

"They're seizing the opportunity while everyone is watching, and I think it will go a long way in the hearts and minds of the Hispanic community," said Byron Kline, 25, a Phoenix commercial-real-estate agent, whose maternal grandparents emigrated from Mexico.

Tom Pomeroy, 57, a Phoenix insurance agent, said the Suns "are just afraid they're going to lose people, and that's the motivation."

"(They) don't like to have Arizona pointed out as a fascist state that does things differently than the rest of the country," Pomeroy added.

The Spurs wanted to join the Suns' statement but could not get "Los Spurs" jerseys in time.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he agrees with Sarver that the Arizona law is "inappropriate." "It's kind of like 9/11 comes, and all of a sudden there's a Patriot Act, just a knee-jerk sort of thing, and it changes our country, what we stand for. This law smacks of that to some degree. So, I think what he's doing . . . is very wise and very correct."

After the Suns won their first-round series in Portland, Ore., on Thursday, Sarver made the decision that he wanted the Suns to wear the orange Los Suns jerseys, which Phoenix wore in two March home wins as part of the NBA's Noche Latina marketing campaign. In a team meeting at Sarver's house Saturday, all the players were in favor of wearing them today, Sarver said.

"I looked around our plane and looked at our players and the diversity in our organization," Sarver said. "I thought we need to go on record that we honor our diversity in our team, in the NBA, and we need to show support for that. As for the political part of that, that's my statement."

Suns co-captain Steve Nash, a South African-born Canadian who has a green card to work in the U.S., has no problem expressing his political views under the basketball spotlight. He once wore a "No war. Shoot for peace" T-shirt during 2003 All-Star Game interviews.

"It's a clear-cut issue for me," said Nash, one of three foreigners on the Suns roster, along with Brazil's Leandro Barbosa and Slovenia's Goran Dragic.

"I don't agree with this bill," Nash added. "I don't agree with the spirit of the bill or the message it sends, not only to people in our community but how it represents our community across the country and the world.

"I think the bill opens up the opportunity for racial profiling, racism. I think it puts the police in an incredibly difficult position that isn't fair to them. It's an infringement on our civil liberties to allow the possibility for inequality to arise in our community."