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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Phoenix wins thriller


Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash  slides past the Sacramento Kings' Mike Bibby during the first half Tuesday.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

Amare Stoudemire blocked a shot by Brad Miller with less than a second remaining that would have tied the game, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Sacramento Kings 125-123 in a thrilling matchup of the Pacific Division’s top two teams Tuesday night at Sacramento, Calif.

Steve Nash scored a season-high 33 points with 17 assists as the Suns snapped an eight-game losing streak in Arco Arena to win for the eighth time in nine games. Nash has passed for 11 or more assists in each of his last seven games.

Chris Webber had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his third triple-double this season and second in as many games – marking the first time in Sacramento franchise history a player has recorded back-to-back triple-doubles.

Bulls 107, Mavericks 100: At Dallas, Luol Deng had 30 points and 11 rebounds and Eddy Curry added 23 points, including several big buckets in the fourth quarter as Chicago beat Dallas.

Nuggets 97, Jazz 87: At Denver, Earl Boykins came off the bench to score 20 points, outscoring all five Utah starters, and Carmelo Anthony had 25 points to lead Denver past Utah.

Grizzlies 108, Timberwolves 96: At Memphis, Tenn., Lorenzen Wright had 18 points and 12 rebounds, leading six Memphis players in double figures during a win over Minnesota.

Cavaliers 104, Raptors 91: At Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 23 points, fellow All-Star LeBron James flirted with his third triple-double in limited action and Cleveland rolled to a victory over Toronto.

Bucks 121, Celtics 97: At Milwaukee, Mike James scored a career-high 28 points, including eight 3-pointers, to lead Milwaukee to a big first half and a victory over Boston.

Spurs 104, Bobcats 85: At Charlotte, N.C., Rasho Nesterovic marked his return to the starting lineup after a six-game absence with 15 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes as San Antonio defeated Charlotte. The Spurs’ Tim Duncan (sprained ankle) missed his first game of the season.

Warriors 113, Magic 109: At Orlando, Jason Richardson scored 11 of his 32 points in the final 3:24, and Golden State snapped a 10-game road losing streak by defeating Orlando.

Allen among All-Star reserves

Dwyane Wade, Manu Ginobili, Gilbert Arenas and Rashard Lewis are NBA All-Stars. Jason Kidd and Steve Francis are not – nor are any members of the Sacramento Kings.

The league’s 30 coaches chose the reserves. The Phoenix Suns will send Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion.

Guard Ray Allen of Seattle and forward Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas rounded out the Western Conference selections. The East’s other reserves are centers Zydrunas Ilgauskas of Cleveland and Ben Wallace of Detroit, forward Jermaine O’Neal of Indiana, Antawn Jamison of Washington and guard Paul Pierce of Boston.