Wizards Run Over by Suns

Nash Orchestrates Romp, Phoenix Wins 14th Straight: Suns 127, Wizards 105

On most nights against most opponents, the Washington Wizards can walk into the locker room at halftime after scoring 51 points and feel pretty good about their chances of winning.

But this wasn't most nights and the Phoenix Suns are unlike any team in the NBA.

Just 33 days after the Wizards pulled out an overtime win at Phoenix, the Suns made 11 three-pointers and compiled 23 assists in the first half alone, led by 25 at the break and rolled to a 127-105 victory.

The Wizards (24-17) put together a handful of mini-runs in the second half and even drew within 13, but the Suns had an answer for each push and snapped Washington's 10-game home winning streak.

Seven Suns scored in double figures and their 48 field goals came with 35 assists. Phoenix (33-9) has won 14 straight and 13 of its last 14 on the road.

Gilbert Arenas scored 31 points to lead Washington. Caron Butler added 24 and led a second-half charge but the Wizards were 6 of 19 from three-point range and couldn't match the overwhelming offense thrown at them by the highest-scoring team in the NBA.

"They come out and want to score 150 and tonight, they were shooting the lights out," said Arenas, who scored 54 points in Washington's 144-139 overtime win at Phoenix on Dec. 22. "They came out on fire and hit everything they threw up there. It's hard to beat a team that is making every shot."

As usual, the onslaught was keyed by two-time MVP Steve Nash. The guard, who was sporting a clean-cut look after shaving off a beard, didn't play a perfect game but it was close. He repeatedly broke free on pick-and-roll plays, knocked down open shots when the defense sagged off and seemingly made every key play when the Suns needed it.

Nash made his first seven shots en route to shooting 11 of 13 overall, scored a team-high 27 points and had 14 assists before taking a seat with 2 minutes 46 seconds remaining.

After a three-pointer by Antonio Daniels cut the Suns' lead to 111-98 with 6:43 remaining, Nash put the game away. On consecutive possessions, he penetrated and drew the Washington defense before dropping a bounce pass to a cutting Amare Stoudemire.

Stoudemire, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, was fouled on both plays -- once by Butler and once by Brendan Haywood -- and made all four free throws to give the Suns a 17-point lead.

The Wizards had to grind out home wins over a bad New York Knicks team and a Boston Celtics squad that was playing without Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak but they couldn't overcome similar rough stretches against the Suns, who have lost three times since Nov. 18.

The Wizards snapped the Suns' 15-game winning streak on Dec. 22 after they jumped to a 39-28 first-quarter lead. Last night, the roles were reversed as the Suns entered the second period leading 41-20. The Wizards missed 11 of their first 14 shots and trailed 22-8 when Shawn Marion turned a Washington turnover into a fast-break dunk.

When Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan turned to a zone defense, the Suns moved the ball crisply around the perimeter and found an open shot. They closed the period with a four-point play by James Jones and a Leandro Barbosa three-pointer that came after Barbosa snagged an offensive rebound.

Not even playing at Verizon Center could help the Wizards. That became obvious with 6:32 left in the third quarter when Barbosa (10 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds) released a three-pointer from the wing. The ball clanged off the rim and went straight up.

It then dropped through the hoop as the crowd let out a groan.

"They really wanted to beat us by 40 or 50 tonight," said Wizards forward Antawn Jamison, who was slowed by a sore knee and finished with nine points and three rebounds. "You could see it in their eyes. They weren't waiting around to see what we were going to do. They just jumped on us and kept it going the whole night."