Marion, Suns scorch Sonics
PHOENIX – Shawn Marion had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns stayed two games ahead of San Antonio in the fight for the No. 2 playoff spot in the Western Conference with a 109-91 victory Wednesday night over the depleted Seattle SuperSonics.
Leandro Barbosa added 20 points as six Suns reached double figures in the team’s 59th victory of the season.
Amare Stoudemire had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix, while Raja Bell scored 14 points.
Steve Nash had 11 points and nine assists.
Rashard Lewis scored 30 for the Sonics. Mike Wilks added a career-high 20 points.
Wilks got his first start in four years because Seattle’s top two point guards, Luke Ridnour and Earl Watson, are out with season-ending ankle injuries.
Chris Wilcox had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Sonics.
The Sonics stayed close until Phoenix outscored them 13-3 to start the fourth quarter to go up 96-80.
The Suns outscored Seattle 26-14 in the fourth.
Seattle shot 57 percent in the first half but still trailed 64-58 at the break, thanks mainly to Phoenix’s long-range shooting. The Suns made 9 of 16 3s in the first half, eight of their last 10.
Suns 109, SuperSonics 91
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| SEATTLE | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| RasLewis | 40:02 | 12-23 | 2-3 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 30 |
| Wilcox | 35:16 | 7-14 | 1-2 | 3-12 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| Collison | 28:49 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Wilkins | 37:07 | 4-9 | 1-1 | 1-5 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Wilks | 41:53 | 7-13 | 6-7 | 0-3 | 6 | 4 | 20 |
| Petro | 24:02 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Gelabale | 18:51 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Livingston | 6:07 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brown | 5:24 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sene | 2:29 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 240:00 | 37-78 | 10-13 | 8-39 | 15 | 17 | 91 |
Percentages: FG .474, FT .769. 3-Point Goals: 7-14, .500 (Ras.Lewis 4-8, Wilkins 3-5, Wilcox 0-1). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 18 (20 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Petro 2, Sene). Turnovers: 17 (Ras.Lewis 6, Wilcox 3, Collison 2, Gelabale 2, Petro, Wilkins, Sene, Wilks). Steals: 6 (Ras.Lewis 3, Wilkins 2, Wilcox).
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| PHOENIX | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| JaJones | 26:18 | 5-11 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Marion | 33:57 | 10-15 | 2-2 | 5-10 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| Stoudemire | 29:33 | 7-13 | 4-5 | 3-11 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Bell | 34:31 | 4-11 | 4-4 | 1-2 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Nash | 30:24 | 5-11 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 9 | 0 | 11 |
| Diaw | 27:10 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Barbosa | 31:02 | 8-15 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| Thomas | 19:38 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Banks | 2:29 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Burke | 2:29 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rose | 2:29 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 240:00 | 43-87 | 10-11 | 11-38 | 29 | 13 | 109 |
Percentages: FG .494, FT .909. 3-Point Goals: 13-30, .433 (Barbosa 4-6, Ja.Jones 3-4, Marion 2-5, Bell 2-7, Banks 1-1, Nash 1-5, Burke 0-1, Diaw 0-1). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 10 (11 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Bell, Marion, Stoudemire). Turnovers: 10 (Nash 4, Barbosa 2, Diaw 2, Ja.Jones, Thomas). Steals: 9 (Stoudemire 3, Diaw 2, Barbosa, Ja.Jones, Marion, Nash).
| Seattle | 33 | 25 | 19 | 14—91 |
| Phoenix | 31 | 33 | 19 | 26—109 |
A—18,422 (18,422). T—2:00.