PHOENIX (AP) The Phoenix Suns were in a funk
and awash in trade rumors. A victory over Golden State made them feel a
little better, at least for now.Grant Hill scored a season-high
27 points and the Suns pulled away in the final 3 1/2 minutes Friday
night to beat the Warriors 115-105."It's been a trying week, a
trying couple of weeks,'' Hill said. "But I think it was important for
us to come out and get a win despite all the speculation that's going
on and all the negativity. We came out and played together and played
hard and did what we had to do.''Jason Richardson scored 17 of
his 25 points in the second half as the Suns defeated the Warriors two
nights after losing at Golden State 124-112. All-Star starter Amare
Stoudemire, the main subject of trade speculation, added 19 points and
15 rebounds for the winners."It was tough,'' Stoudemire said. "I
think once the ball goes up, everything is put aside. You get totally
ready for the game, you get focused for the game and what takes place
on the court. But beforehand it's a little tough and frustrating -
everything is coming at me at once.''Phoenix had lost eight of
12 going into the contest and blew most of an 11-point fourth-quarter
lead before Steve Nash put the game away with six points in the final
1:25. Nash had 19 points and eight assists."It's never easy to
hear trade talk and rumors about teammates and stuff,'' Nash said, "but
I think everyone has faced that in their career, and you just have to
keep fighting and root for each other.''Coach Terry Porter called it "a solid win.''"We
did a good job of moving the ball offensively, getting attempts at the
basket, and had a good mix of things,'' he said. "I just thought
defensively we did a much better job of taking the challenge and really
making those guys work for everything that they had at the offensive
end.''Corey Maggette scored 25 points and Stephen Jackson 24 for the Warriors, who fell to 5-23 on the road.With
his first basket, which didn't come until the second quarter because of
foul trouble, the Suns' Shaquille O'Neal became the seventh player in
NBA history to score 27,000 points. O'Neal scored 12 points before
fouling out with 1:17 to play.Andris Biedrins had 11 points and
11 rebounds for Golden State before leaving with a sprained right ankle
with 6:23 left in the third quarter. X-rays were negative. Jamal
Crawford added 17 points and Monta Ellis 15 for the Warriors."We
stopped playing defense,'' Crawford said. "Our defense was terrible at
the end of the game. They played better `D' on us than they did last
game, but I think our defense was way worse than what it was the night
we beat them.''The Warriors' Kelenna Azubuike was scoreless and took three shots in just under 15 minutes."I didn't see him. Did you see him?'' coach Don Nelson said. "He was missing in action.''Richardson
scored 10 points in a 2 1/2-minute span late in the third quarter and
early in the fourth. His 3-pointer with 10:11 to play put the Suns
ahead 93-89.Hill - who finished 12-of-17 shooting - capped a
13-3 run with an inside basket to put the Suns ahead 103-92 with 6:19
remaining.Golden State, though, scored the next nine on two
three-point plays and a 3-pointer by Jackson. Maggette's three-point
play cut the lead to 103-101 with 4:27 to go.The Warriors scored
the first nine points of the second half to take their first lead of
the game. Biedrins converted a three-point play, then followed with a
layup to put Golden State ahead 63-59. The Warriors twice led by five
in the third, but Phoenix was up 86-85 entering the fourth quarter.Notes:
The other six players to score 27,000 points were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone and Elvin
Hayes. ... Friday was the first anniversary of the trade that brought
O'Neal to the Suns. ... Nash turns 35 on Saturday. ... Nash needs four
assists to pass Lenny Wilkens into 10th on the NBA career assists list.
... The home team has won nine consecutive games in the series. ... The
Suns took only four 3-pointers and made two, both by Richardson.