Stoudemire and Nash help Suns beat Raptors

[January 19, 2009]  TORONTO (AP) -- Amare Stoudemire scored 31 points, Steve Nash had a season-high 18 assists and the Phoenix 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 the Suns.

Anthony Parker led Toronto with 26, Joey Graham scored a career-high 22 and Chris Bosh had 20 points and 11 rebounds as Toronto lost its fifth straight.

Phoenix led 99-89 after two Stoudemire free throws with 10:33 left, but Toronto roared back to tie it at 102-all with a 13-3 run over the next 3 1/2 minutes, with Graham scoring on consecutive trips for the Raptors.

A Stoudemire dunk with 3:18 left made it 114-109, but a putback dunk by Jamario Moon and Parker's layup drew Toronto within a point.

Parker missed a 3-pointer from the top with 37 seconds remaining and Nash sealed it with a driving layup at the other end.

Both Parker and Bosh missed layups on Toronto's final possession and Stoudemire was fouled as he wrapped up the rebound with half a second left.

The Raptors had just nine players available. 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.

Toronto shuffled its lineup, with Parker starting at the point and Graham opening as the shooting guard, just his second start of the season.

Graham made the most of his opportunity, scoring seven quick points as Toronto opened a 20-10 lead with 6:34 left in the first. Phoenix called a timeout to set things straight, and a Matt Barnes 3-pointer with less than a second left in the first gave the Suns a 36-34 lead after one.

Barnes scored eight more points in the second and Leandro Barbosa added 10 as the Suns led 71-63 at the half.

Notes: O'Neal picked up a technical foul in the second for an altercation with Toronto's Jake Voskuhl under the basket. ... Toronto's last win over Phoenix came Feb. 10, 2004. ... Nash exchanged a pre-game hug with Toronto coach Jay Triano, his former coach on the Canadian national team.

[Associated Press]

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