Recap: Phoenix vs. Detroit
Sports Network | November 16, 2008
Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Amare Stoudemire scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Phoenix Suns in a 104-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Steve Nash chipped in 17 points and seven assists for the Suns, who have won two straight and four of their last five. Boris Diaw gave 13 points and Grant Hill 11 in the win.
Richard Hamilton led the way with 19 points for the Pistons, who saw their three-game win streak come to an end. Rodney Stuckey had 12 points and Rasheed Wallace 11 and nine boards in defeat.
The Suns jumped out to a 31-23 lead after the first quarter.
Shaquille O'Neal was whistled for a flagrant foul two as he threw Stuckey to the ground chest-first as he was going up for a layup. The foul occurred with 5:19 left in the second quarter and led to the big man's ejection. O'Neal had 12 points before his early exit.
Phoenix, despite the loss of O'Neal, went on to lead 61-46 at the half.
With the Suns already sporting a 13-point lead, Nash and Robin Lopez each made one from the free throw line and Stoudemire nailed a jumper to make it 69-52 with 8:05 left in the third.
The teams traded baskets and an Allen Iverson three in the closing seconds cut it to 81-67 heading into the final frame.
A Will Bynum layup brought the score to 86-75 early in the fourth quarter. However, Diaw scored on a hook shot and Stoudemire added five points to increase the Phoenix lead to 93-75 with 7:42 left in regulation.
Two free throws from Nash, a Raja Bell three-ball and Stoudemire's layup gave the home team a 100-77 lead with 3:14 left in the tilt.
Iverson had seven assists...The Suns are 7-1 when scoring 100 points or more this season...Detroit is 5-2 away from The Palace this season...Matt Barnes, who was suspended for two games after an altercation in Wednesday's loss to the Houston Rockets, did not play. Barnes is eligible to return for Monday's game against Utah...The Pistons won both meetings with Phoenix in 2007-08 and had won three straight encounters. Detroit was unbeaten in its last three contests at Phoenix.
