Nash's 37 boosts Suns past Bucks; Kings rout Nets
NEW YORK: Steve Nash helped the Phoenix Suns overturn a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit and post a 114-105 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
The All-Star guard scored 15 of his season-high 37 points in the final period and tallied 10 assists in total as Phoenix became the first team in the Western Conference to reach 30 wins this season.
The Suns are 30-12, second only to the Boston Celtics (33-6) for the best record in the league.
Phoenix also continued itsdomination of Milwaukee, winning 30 of the last 34 games against the Bucks since March 28, 1991. During that run, the Suns are 20-0 against the Bucks in Phoenix.
Amare Stoudemire had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Raja Bell also scored 19 points for the Suns, but the stage belonged to Nash.
"That's what he means to us," Bell told reporters. "If he doesn't get those opportunities (to score) you can pretty much bank on the fact that he will find the guy who is wide open.
"If teams choose to play us like that, it's fine because he is probably our best shooter."
The Suns were also bolstered by the return of Grant Hill to the starting line-up, the guard coming back less than two weeks after undergoing an appendectomy on January 9.
He had eight points in 27 minutes.
Michael Redd scored 28 points for the Bucks, but could only register two in the fourth quarter. Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
"They have a couple of All-Star type players that made some plays," Milwaukee coach Larry Krystkowiak said.
"Steve Nash came up huge.
"It's a tough one to swallow. Our guys really played hard."
In Sacramento, California, Ron Artest scored 27 points, Kevin Martin added 19 and Mike Bibby scored all 15 of his in the first half to lead finally healthy Sacramento to its third straight victory over New Jersey.
The three played their first game together last Wednesday in Toronto, and Bibby and Artest joined Martin back in the starting lineup for the first time against New Jersey. They notched the Kings' most lopsided win of the season.
Vince Carter led the way for the Nets with 21 points, Richard Jefferson added 18 as New Jersey lost its sixth straight to match its longest losing streak of the season.
Bibby, Artest and Martin combined to score the Kings' first 19 points, helping them take a 10-point lead just before the midway point of the opening quarter. The rest of the team followed suit as Sacramento made nine 3-pointers in the opening half to go up 64-47. Bibby's third 3 of the half capped the scoring and gave him 15 points at the break.
Agencies
(China Daily 01/24/2008 page24)
