Steve Nash sank seven of the Suns’ season-high 17 3-pointers. Then he said it was all about the defense.
Raja Bell scored 27 points, Nash added 26 and Phoenix held Cleveland to 39 second-half points in a 110-108 win over the Cavaliers on Friday night.
After a 69-point first half, Cleveland managed just 15 of 42 shots after the break.
“We really picked it up defensively and that helped us get out in our offense,” said Nash, who was 7-for-9 on 3s and added nine assists. “We were able to run a little more and play like we want to.”
At Cleveland, Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and the Suns improved to 17-2 against Eastern Conference teams. Phoenix went 17-of-33 on 3-pointers, but it was the Suns’ defense, not exactly their forte, in the second half that was the difference.
Shawn Marion sealed the win, dropping in a baseline floater with 1.1 seconds left for his lone field goal.
“A great, great win,” Nash said. “We didn’t get many calls or have many bounces go our way – until the end.”
In other NBA games, it was: Detroit 101, Orlando 93; Boston 87, Minnesota 86; Dallas 112, the Los Angeles Lakers 105; New Orleans 111, the Los Angeles Clippers 92; Charlotte 90, Chicago 77; Denver 100, New Jersey 85; Utah 127, Sacramento 113, Houston 89, Portland 79; Atlanta 99, Seattle 90; Toronto 106, Milwaukee 75; Washington 104, Memphis 93; and the New York Knicks 89, Philadelphia 81.
Marion, averaging 15.9 points, was 0-for-3 from the floor before he took a pass in the corner from Boris Diaw, faked his way past center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and as LeBron James rushed toward him, arched in his shot on the run.
After calling a timeout, Cleveland had trouble getting the ball inbounds before Damon Jones fired up a 3-pointer that was way off at the horn. The Cavaliers lost for just the third time in 14 games.
James scored 36 points to lead the Cavaliers, but the NBA’s leading scorer missed a 3-pointer and a pair of inside shots in the waning minutes. After leaving the floor, James, who was just 6-of-16 in the second half, kicked a trash can in disgust on his way to Cleveland’s locker room.
“Some of those shots seemed like they were down in the net and something pulled the ball out,” James said, shaking his head.
The Suns have won 15 of their past 18 against the Cavaliers. Larry Hughes had 25 points and Ilgauskas 21 for Cleveland.
Celtics 87, Timberwolves 86
At Boston, Kendrick Perkins scored on a putback with 16.6 seconds left, and Kevin Garnett poked the ball away from Sebastian Telfair as time expired.
In the first matchup between Garnett and the handful of ex-Celtics traded to Minnesota for him, Boston struggled to put away the team with the worst record in the NBA.
Pistons 101, Magic 93
At Auburn Hills, Mich., Richard Hamilton scored 32 points and Rasheed Wallace had 13 of his 15 in the first quarter as Detroit built a big lead.
Dwight Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 for the Southeast Division-leading Magic, who had won three straight.
Hornets 111, Clippers 92
At New Orleans, Peja Stojakovic hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points and the Hornets won their seventh straight game.
David West had 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Chris Paul added 14 assists for New Orleans, which has won 15 of 17 games.
Corey Maggette led Los Angeles with 24 points.
Mavericks 112, Lakers 105
At Dallas, Josh Howard had 26 points and played tough defense on Kobe Bryant during a game-changing third quarter, and Dallas then held off a furious finish by Bryant.
Bryant scored 14 of the Lakers’ final 16 points, including the last 10. He had 40 points in the game and went 17-of-21 from the foul line, approaching career highs in both categories.
Rockets 89, Trail Blazers 79
At Porland, Ore., Tracy McGrady had 15 points, Carl Landry added 12 points and eight rebounds and Houston snapped Portland’s 12-game home winning streak.
Brandon Roy had 16 of his 23 points in the first half for the Blazers, who made just 7 of 30 shots (23.3 percent) in the second half.
Jazz 127, Kings 113
At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer made his first 13 shots and finished with 33 points to lead Utah over Sacramento.
Andrei Kirilenko added 25 points, six rebounds and six assists. Deron Williams had 16 points and 14 assists for Utah.
Kevin Martin scored 32 points.
Nuggets 100, Nets 85
At Denver, Allen Iverson scored 30 points, Linas Kleiza added 23 and Denver extended New Jersey’s losing streak to eight games.
Kenyon Martin, the No. 1 overall pick by the Nets in the 2000 draft, scored 20 points.
The Nuggets played a second straight game without Carmelo Anthony (sprained ankle), an All-Star starter along with Iverson.
Richard Jefferson led New Jersey with 19 points. Jason Kidd, another starter in All-Star game, had his 11th triple-double of the year with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Raptors 106, Bucks 75
At Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 32 points, Carlos Delfino added 18 and Toronto buried Milwaukee with a 19-0 run in the third quarter, sending the Bucks to their fourth loss in five games.
Bobcats 90, Bulls 77
At Chicago, Emeka Okafor scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds and Gerald Wallace added 21 points for Charlotte.
Chicago played without its top two scorers, Ben Gordon (wrist) and Luol Deng (Achilles’ tendinitis).
Wizards 104, Grizzlies 93
At Washington, Antawn Jamison had 24 points and 12 rebounds and the Wizards rebounded from their worst defeat in more than six years.
Mike Miller had 21 points and Kyle Lowry had 13 points and a career-high 10 assists for the Grizzlies, losers of eight of their last 10.
Knicks 89, 76ers 81
At New York, Zach Randolph had 16 points and 15 rebounds to help New York beat Philadelphia for the first time in five meetings.
Andre Iguodala scored 24 for Philadelphia, which has lost three straight and four of five.
Hawks 99, SuperSonics 90
At Seattle, Marvin Williams scored a career-high 33 points and Atlanta extended Seattle’s losing streak to a franchise-record tying 13 games.
Kevin Durant scored 17 points for the Sonics.
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