Nash leads Suns over depleted Rockets
Trying to beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter, Shawn Marion heaved a wild hook shot from the top of the key. The ball rattled around the rim and dropped in.
It was that kind of a night for the Phoenix Suns.
Marion had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Steve Nash had 19 points and 15 assists and the Suns beat the Houston Rockets 115-105 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win, at Houston.
Leandro Barbosa and Amare Stoudemire had 21 points apiece for the sharp-shooting Suns, who shot 62 percent (43 of 69) and went 10 for 19 from 3-point range, both season-high percentages.
“I never felt the game was close,” Nash said. “We controlled the tempo all game.”
The scary part is they think they should’ve scored more – the accurate shooting masked 25 turnovers, also a season high.
“I don’t think we’re quite where we should be,” Marion said. “We’ve still got another notch to get to.”
Grant Hill also had 18 points for the Suns, who’ve won seven of the last eight meetings with Houston. Phoenix improved to 8-2, its best start since 2004-05.
Mike James scored 17 in place of Tracy McGrady, who missed his second straight game because of a sprained right elbow. Houston is 11-41 without McGrady since he joined the team before the 2004-05 season.
Luis Scola had 20 points and 11 rebounds, but Yao Ming had only 12 on 4-for-17 shooting for the Rockets, who have lost four in a row. Marion and Stoudemire double-teamed Yao much of the night.
“We just swarmed him and tried to make it difficult for him,” Marion said. “We did the best we could. We just tried to make him feel uncomfortable.”
The Suns led 69-57 at halftime after shooting an astonishing 73 percent in the first half (27 of 37) – and only missing four shots inside the 3-point arc.
Phoenix missed 5 of its first 11 shots in the third quarter and Houston chipped away at the lead. Yao sank a free throw and James scored on a drive to pull the Rockets to 78-72.
Marion drove for a layup at the other end just five seconds later to start a decisive 16-4 Phoenix run.
Marion had a two-handed dunk to put Phoenix up 88-72, then finished the third quarter with a wild hook shot from the top of the key that rattled in to put the Suns up 94-76.
The Rockets started the fourth quarter with a quick 9-0 burst. But Stoudemire scored twice to push the lead back over 10 and Nash’s fadeaway with 6:31 left put the Suns up 100-87.
Phoenix is 8-0 this season when it reaches 100 points.
Pacers 117, Jazz 97: At Indianapolis, Mike Dunleavy scored 25 points, and Indiana beat Utah to snap a six-game losing streak.
Hornets 100, Timberwolves 82: At Minneapolis, Peja Stojakovic scored 22 points, Morris Peterson had 18 and New Orleans beat Minnesota for the Hornets’ fifth straight win.
Mavericks 108, Grizzlies 105: At Dallas, Josh Howard matched his season high with 27 points, six during a key fourth-quarter stretch, and the Mavericks remained unbeaten at home with a victory over Memphis.
Nuggets 115, Knicks 83: At Denver, Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and Allen Iverson added 23 and the Nuggets won their fifth straight game with a win over New York.
Wizards 109, Trail Blazers 91: At Washington, Antawn Jamison had 30 points to lead the short-handed Wizards over Portland.
Bucks 105, Hawks 96: At Milwaukee, Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd each scored 21 points to lead the Bucks to a victory over Atlanta, extending the Hawks’ road losing streak to 17 games.
Bulls 92, Clippers 73: At Los Angeles, Ben Gordon scored 25 points and Andres Nocioni shrugged off a couple of flagrant fouls to score 21, leading Chicago to a rout of the Clippers.
Heat 91, Nets 87: At East Rutherford, N.J., Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, Penny Hardaway added 16 in his best game since returning to the NBA, and Miami beat New Jersey for its second victory of the season.