Stoudemire leads the Suns to rout of Clippers

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday March 4, 2010 2:01AM

LOS ANGELES (NBA.com exclusive) -- If this was another audition for next season, Phoenix Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire picked the right place to have one of his better performances.

Stoudemire, who will be one of the NBA's prized free agents this offseason, scorched the Los Angeles Clippers for 30 points and 14 rebounds in just three quarters of play, leading the Suns to a 127-101 route Wednesday night at Staples Center.

The Clippers are one of the few franchises with the necessary salary-cap space to make a run at one of the top free agents. If they're unable to lure a top-tier player such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, they could certainly benefit from Stoudemire's scoring ability.

"Whatever situation I end up going to will end up as the best for me," said Stoudemire, who has spent his entire eight-year career in Phoenix. "I just have to think about, and figure out, what's the logical move."

Stoudemire almost single-handedly put the Clippers away in the third quarter, converting all six of his field-goal attempts and amassing 15 points. He came to Los Angeles ranked 12th in the league in field-goal percentage (54.6 percent) and certainly improved that statistic.

He converted 12-for-16 from the floor overall, his most efficient shooting performance since shooting 11-for-14 in a 116-98 victory Dec. 30 against the visiting Boston Celtics.

"Amar'e Stoudemire has been playing great," said teammate Steve Nash. "It seems like he's getting better. It has been great to see him so focused and playing well on both ends of the floor."

Stoudemire's performance helped offset another low-scoring effort by Nash, the two-time league MVP who was limited to two points on 1-for-5 shooting in 27 minutes.

Nash, who turned 36 last month, has been held to single digits in five of his last nine games. Against the Clippers, he scored the fewest points since totaling two points in 22 minutes during a 17-point loss at Philadelphia in February 2009.

To his defense, he has been battling an ailing back and abdomen, which forced him to miss a game at Oklahoma City on Feb. 23. He did manage to distribute 13 assists.

The Clippers (25-36) came into the game riding a four-game home winning streak, their most recent win coming against the Utah Jazz on Monday. They stayed with the Suns through the first half, even taking a one-point lead into the third quarter.

However, the Suns (39-24) fired off a 15-5 run through the first 4 ½ minutes. With the Clippers trailing by seven, Clippers coach Kim Hughes substituted Chris Kaman and Baron Davis for DeAndre Jordan and Steve Blake. Shortly afterward, things got drastically worse for Clippers fans.

"I'm not sure if some of our players felt sorry for themselves or were just frustrated," said Clippers interim coach Kim Hughes. "They stopped competing."

Blake narrowed the deficit to four with a 3-point basket, but the Suns outscored Los Angeles, 20-4, over the final 4 ½ minutes, essentially icing their seventh victory in the last eight games.

Stoudemire and Nash were among the starters who rested the entire fourth quarter, watching as the Phoenix reserves continued to pick away at the Clipper defense.

Channing Frye was the biggest beneficiary of the added playing time. The reserve forward scored 14 of his 23 points over the final 12 minutes, making a career-high seven 3-pointers on 10 attempts.

Jason Richardson scored 22 points before also sitting out the final quarter, and Jared Dudley contributed 17 points off the bench.

The Suns collected a season-high 58 rebounds, compared to 34 for the Clippers.

"They pounded us on the boards," Hughes said. "This was an unacceptable performance."

Chris Kaman finished with 24 points, Eric Gordon had 21, Rasual Butler 16 and Drew Gooden 14 for Los Angeles, but none scored more than seven points in the second half. Gooden and Travis Outlaw struggled for the first time since coming to the Clippers prior to the trade deadline last month. Gooden shot 6-for-14 from the field and grabbed just four rebounds. Outlaw was 1-for-9 from the floor and finished with three points.

"I thought this performance was our poorest performance, by far, of this second half of the season," Hughes said. "We definitely have to get our head in the game."

It won't get any easier as Oklahoma City (36-24) visits Staples Center on Friday night. The Thunder lost by 29 points at Denver on Wednesday.

In the meantime the Suns, No. 5 in the Western Conference playoff race, host No. 4 Utah on Thursday night.