The AP reports: Rajon Rondo had 23 points and seven assists before sitting out the fourth quarter with the rest of the starters, and Boston opened a 30-point lead before coasting to a 104-87 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. The Celtics have won five straight since a 2-7 slump that was the worst stretch of the new Big Three era. “I don’t think this is a team that will get shaken or rattled when we go through a struggle,” said Paul Pierce, who had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists… Pierce scored all of his points by halftime to help Boston take a 64-34 lead. Ray Allen scored 20, and Kevin Garnett had 16 points with eight rebounds… Shaquille O’Neal scored 16 with 11 rebounds for Phoenix, which had won seven of its last 10. Amare Stoudemire, the Suns’ leading scorer this season, had just three points on 0-for-7 shooting.
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Shaq makes a funny
The Toronto Sun (Terry Koshan) reports: The always quotable Shaquille O’Neal had one of the better post-game lines yesterday. When O’Neal was asked what it was like to hear a louder ovation for another player (Steve Nash), other than himself, O’Neal said: “Never happens.” But a reporter pointed out that Nash had a louder ovation during the warmup than O’Neal did. “They asked my permission,” said O’Neal, who finished with 16 points. O’Neal is getting long in the tooth, but still leaves a lasting impression on opponents.
Stoudemire and Nash help Suns beat Raptors
The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 31 points, Steve Nash had a season-high 18 assists and the Suns beat Toronto 117-113 on Sunday afternoon, their ninth consecutive victory over the struggling Raptors… Jason Richardson added 17 points, Shaquille O’Neal and Matt Barnes each had 16 and Leandro Barbosa scored 14 for Phoenix. Stoudemire scored 11 points in the fourth as the Suns won the opener of a six-game road trip… Anthony Parker led Toronto with 26, Joey Graham scored a career-high 22 and Chris Bosh had 20 points and 12 rebounds as Toronto lost its fifth straight… Guard Jose Calderon (hamstring) sat for the eighth time in nine games, guard Jason Kapono was scratched because of flu-like symptoms and forward Jermaine O’Neal, who returned from a nine-game absence Friday, rested his sore knee. O’Neal is probable for Monday’s game at Atlanta.
Foye’s late basket lifts Timberwolves past Suns
The AP reports: Randy Foye made a 20-foot jumper with 1:58 remaining—and one second left on the shot clock—that propelled Minnesota to a 105-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Foye hit the basket despite being closely guarded by Jason Richardson… Al Jefferson had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Minnesota, who bounced back from a loss on Tuesday to win for the sixth time in seven games… Craig Smith had 18 points, Rodney Carney finished with 17 and Foye had 15 for Minnesota. Kevin Love added 17 points and 14 rebounds, seven coming on the offensive end… Shaquille O’Neal and Leandro Barbosa each scored 22 and Amare Stoudemire added 19 for the Suns, who lost for just the third time in their last 11 home games.
Nuggets beat Suns in overtime, 119-113
The AP reports: Chauncey Billups scored five of his game-high 26 points in overtime and the Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 119-113 on Thursday night. Nene had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Kenyon Martin had 24 points, including a clinching 3-pointer with 29.6 seconds left in overtime. Martin also had eight rebounds and a career-high seven steals for Denver, which has won seven of eight. Billups, who said he’s been sick since the end of December, also had eight assists… Grant Hill scored a season-high 25 points and Steve Nash had 20 points and 14 assists for the Suns, who played without center Shaquille O’Neal, who was inactive for the game. Phoenix coach Terry Porter said it was a “routine” night off for O’Neal.
Suns hold off Hawks as Shaq scores 26
The AP reports: The Shaquille O’Neal of old is leading the new-look Phoenix Suns. O’Neal had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the Suns won their third straight Tuesday night with a 107-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, who lost their fourth in a row. The Suns are 8-1 this season when O’Neal scores 20 or more points. This was his ninth 20-point game of the season, surpassing his total of eight all last season… O’Neal made 10 of his 17 field goal attempts, but for the first time in three games he missed a foul shot… Steve Nash finished with 23 points and six assists, Leandro Barbosa scored 22 points and Stoudemire had 17 for the Suns. Barnes added 10 rebounds. Josh Smith led the Hawks with 24 points. He was followed by Mike Bibby with 17, Marvin Williams with 16 and Flip Murray with 14. Williams also had 12 rebounds, Zaza Pachulia 11 and Smith 10.
Suns hand Clippers 11th straight loss, 109-103
The AP reports: Grant Hill scored six of his 21 points in the final 5:04 against the undermanned Clippers, and Amare Stoudemire overcame early foul trouble to score 26 points as the Suns sent Los Angeles to its 11th straight loss with a 109-103 victory on Sunday. O’Neal had 15 points and 10 rebounds, including a critical three-point play with 2:05 remaining… Jason Richardson had 21 points and Nash added 14 points and 12 assists for the Suns, who blew a 15-point lead before notching their third straight road win to move a season-best eight games over .500… Al Thornton had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers, whose losing streak is their longest since a 13-game stretch late in the in 2003-04 season. Marcus Camby had 18 points and 18 rebounds.
O’Neal leads Suns to 128-100 rout of Dallas
The AP reports: The Suns outscored the Mavericks 40-19 in the third quarter and went on to a 128-100 rout on Friday night. Shaquille O’Neal had 25 points and 10 rebounds in just under 27 minutes for the Suns… Jason Richardson added 21 points and Leandro Barbosa had 20 in the Suns’ highest-scoring game of the season… Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 for Dallas, and Josh Howard had 16 before departing with a sprained left wrist in the third quarter. X-rays were negative. Amare Stoudemire scored 16 in Phoenix’s fourth win in five games. Grant Hill added 10 points, eight in the third quarter, as the Suns shot 63 percent for the night. Steve Nash had nine points and 12 assists.
Granger’s 3 at buzzer gives Pacers 113-110 win over Suns
The AP reports: The Indiana Pacers are making a habit of beating the NBA’s elite teams, and Danny Granger is making a habit of scoring big. Granger hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and matched his career high with 37 points in Indiana’s 113-110 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night… Mike Dunleavy scored 14 points for the Pacers in his first game this season. Stephen Graham had 13, Troy Murphy 12, Jarret Jack 11 and Rasho Nesterovic 10. Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Grant Hill and Barbosa had 18 apiece, Steve Nash and Jason Richardson added 16 each, and Louis Amundson had a career-high 14 rebounds and nine points. Nash also had 12 assists.
Suns release Dee Brown
The Phoenix Suns have released guard Daniel “Dee” Brown, the club announced today.
The 6-0, 181-pound guard appeared in two games for Phoenix in a reserve role, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 assists in 14.0 minutes. Brown hit a three-pointer in his first action with Phoenix on Dec. 29 at Oklahoma City and also finished with one assist in 13 minutes. A night later in Memphis, the Illinois product scored two points, dished two assists and grabbed a rebound in 15 minutes. The two-year NBA performer was signed by the Suns on Dec. 24 after appearing in 17 games (11 starts) with the Washington Wizards to begin 2008-09.
The Suns roster now stands at 12.
A season-high seven games above .500, the Suns return to action tomorrow night, Wed., Jan. 7, hosting the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. at US Airways Center.
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