Suns not burning out
Steve Nash scored 23 points and kept Phoenix’s high-energy offense purring with 15 assists as the Suns extended their winning streak to 17 games – the NBA’s longest in seven years and tied for fifth longest in NBA history – by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-100 on Sunday in Cleveland.
Shawn Marion added 23 points, Amare Stoudemire 22 and Leandro Barbosa had 19 for the Suns, who improved to 34-4 since opening the season 1-5.
The Suns haven’t lost since Dec. 28, and with the way they’re running and sharing the ball right now, it’s going to take a spectacular effort to beat them.
LeBron James scored 30 points and Drew Gooden 19 to lead the Cavaliers, who were within four points going into the fourth. However, they couldn’t match the Suns’ blazing up-and-down pace and managed just 13 points in the final 12 minutes.
Bucks 107, Knicks 105: At Milwaukee, Mo Williams had 30 points, including a running, 20-foot jumper with 3.1 seconds left, and 10 assists to lift Milwaukee to a victory over New York to snap a six-game losing streak.
Williams, who missed the last nine games after spraining his left shoulder in a collision on Jan. 8 at Denver, brought some desperately needed energy and bailed out the struggling Bucks after they nearly blew a 13-point lead with just under 9 minutes to play.
Spurs 96, Lakers 94 (OT): At Los Angeles, Michael Finley’s 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in overtime gave San Antonio a victory over Los Angeles.
Finley took a pass from Tim Duncan well behind the arc and hit nothing but net on his long jumper over Lamar Odom, helping the Spurs avoid their first regular-season sweep at hands of the Lakers in nine years.
Wizards 105, Celtics 91: At Boston, Antawn Jamison scored 34 points and Caron Butler added 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead Washington past Boston.
Gilbert Arenas shrugged off a poor shooting night and finished with 23 points. The Wizards have won six of seven to move into first place in the Eastern Conference.
Pistons 95, Pacers 87: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Chris Webber had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Detroit coach Flip Saunders picked up his 500th victory with a win over Indiana.
Rasheed Wallace added 20 points for Detroit, while Richard Hamilton scored 21 and Antonio McDyess finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Jermaine O’Neal led all scorers with 26 points for the Pacers.