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Steve Nash sets assist record in Suns win
Steve Nash is fitting in perfectly with his new Phoenix teammates. Nash became the first NBA player to assist on 10 or more baskets in 11 consecutive victories, finishing with 13 in the Suns' 106-94 victory over Toronto on Sunday night. Nash broke the mark of 10 games, set twice by Magic Johnson in the 1986-87 season.
Nash, who left Dallas during the offseason to sign with the Suns, had three assists, and Amare Stoudemire scored six of his 33 points during a 12-0 fourth-quarter run after the Raptors had erased a 20-point lead.
"We kind of took it easy for a couple of minutes," Stoudemire said. "We can't do that. But we were able to close it out."
The Suns have won 20 of their last 21 games to improve to 24-3.
In other games, it was: Golden State 98, Sacramento 94; Cleveland 100, New Orleans 91; San Antonio 107, Boston 90; Dallas 102, Denver 88; New York 91, Charlotte 82; Minnesota 109, Washington 74; Houston 96, the Los Angeles Clippers 79; and Milwaukee 99, Chicago 92.
After falling behind 59-39 early in the third, Toronto fought back with some help from its reserves. Jalen Rose, Lamond Murray and Matt Bonner all had key baskets to help the Raptors tie it at 80 with 8:38 left.
"We always play hard when we get down 20," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "You can't keep getting down 20 points. You've got to play like you're getting embarrassed to start the game. For whatever reason, we get down 20, our pride is challenged and we play hard."
During the Suns' latest winning streak ¡ª they won nine in a row earlier this season ¡ª they have scored at least 100 points in every game, with Sunday's 106 points their lowest total during the stretch. The last time Phoenix won 11 straight was March 20-April 10, 1997. The 11 consecutive wins ties Miami for the longest streak this season.
Warriors 98, Kings 94
At Sacramento, Calif., Jason Richardson scored all 26 of his points in the second half to lead Golden State.
The Warriors snapped an 11-game losing streak in Sacramento and won for just the second time in 22 games at Arco Arena dating to April 9, 1998.
Chris Webber scored 28 points for the Kings.
Cavaliers 100, Hornets 91
At Cleveland, LeBron James came within one rebound of his first career triple-double, finishing with 22 points and a season-high 14 assists for the Cavaliers.
Drew Gooden had 18 points and 18 rebounds, and Jeff McInnis added 16 points and 10 assists to help Cleveland improve to 11-2 at home.
Lee Nailon scored 18 points for New Orleans.
Spurs 107, Celtics 90 At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored a season-high 27 points, and Tim Duncan had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs. Ricky Davis led Boston with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Mavericks 102, Nuggets 88 At Denver, Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 of his 36 points in the second half to help Dallas rally past Denver. Denver was without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony for the fourth straight game because of a sprained ankle. Andre Miller led the Nuggets with 18 points. Knicks 91, Bobcats 82 At New York, Tim Thomas scored 20 points to lead five New York starters in double figures. Emeka Okafor had 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Bobcats for his 15th straight double-double. Rockets 96, Clippers 79 At Houston, Tracy McGrady and Jim Jackson each scored 21 points to help Houston win for the seventh time in 10 games. Yao Ming had 20 points and 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double and team-high 11th of the season. Corey Maggette scored 23 points for the Clippers. Timberwolves 109, Wizards 74 At Minneapolis, Wally Szczerbiak scored 23 points to lead Minnesota. Gilbert Arenas scored 21 points for Washington. Bucks 99, Bulls 92 At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 20 of his season-high 39 points in the first quarter, and the Bucks snapped a five-game losing streak. Ben Gordon had 19 points for Chicago.
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