The energy returns as Phoenix never trails in Sacramento. Steve Nash shows the Jimmer what it means to be a point guard.
The red-hot Sacramento Kings, who had beaten the West's number one team (Oklahoma City Thunder) on Thursday night, have been playing well at home. However, The Phoenix Suns locked down defensively and did not allow them to score more than 24 points in any quarter. The Kings never led and the Suns came away with a 98-84.
The first quarter was played a pace that Phoenix fans would recognize. With eight early points by Channing Frye, the Suns built an early 17-9 lead. They kept the pace up and finished the quarter with a 31-24 lead. Steve Nash had six assists. For the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins paced the team with 11 points in the quarter. Steve Nash, though, had to go to the locker room and get stitches on his lower lip after he got smacked in the face by Isaiah Thomas, who was knocked down by a Marcin Gortat pick.
Nash did not play in the second quarter, as he got four stitches in the lip. The bench did a great job of keeping things equal and even increasing the lead by two, to 53-44. Defensively, they held Sacramento to 20 points in the quarter. In Nash's place, Sebastian Telfair had four assists and Ronnie Price scored four.
The Suns built the lead to 15 points by the end of the third quarter and held the Kings to only 16 points. At one point, they had hit only 5-22 shots in the quarter. Marcus Thornton did heat up. Through three quarters, he had 20 points with four three-pointers.
Rookie Markieff Morris had a great game, scoring 18 points and grabbing six boards. Jared Dudley had a double-double -- 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Steve Nash only scored four points, shooting 2-7, but had 15 assists in 29 minutes.
With the win, the Suns improve to 12-15 on the season. The Kings fall to 10-17.
Next up on the schedule for the Suns are the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in Oakland.
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The Phoenix Suns start off a three-game road trip begins in Sacramento as they face off against the 10-16 Kings. The Suns hope to start another winning streak. They had won three straight before falling at home against the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Unfortunately, the Kings have been pretty solid at home. They are 7-4 at home while they are a measly 3-12 on the road. Phoenix, on the other hand, has been pretty even. They are 5-7 at home and 6-8 on the road.
Projected Lineups:
TV broadcast info:
The Suns game tips off at 8:00 p.m. Arizona time on Fox Sports Arizona. Arizona Sports 620 radio. Bright Side of the Sun will have the live game thread.
Steve Nash Shooting The Lights Out Among Giants (Literally)
by Jess Root
Steve Nash has had a remarkable season so far. Those of us in Phoenix already know that and have been very spoiled over the past few years with his amazing point guard play.
He is averaging over 10 assists per game, leading the NBA. That's nothing new. He is also shooting he ball extremely well. That is no surprise either. The surprise is just how well. The image below shows where he stands among the league leaders.
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Feb 12 11:00a