Notebook: Suns 98, Kings 84

Posted Sunday February 12, 2012 1:25AM

By James Ham, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Phoenix Suns walked into Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday night and shot the Sacramento Kings out of the building, 98-84.

Jared Dudley led the way for the Suns, scoring 20 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. Steve Nash had no trouble carving up the Kings' defense on his way to a 15-assist game.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Marcus Thornton chipped in 21 for the 10-17 Kings.

QUOTABLE: "To me, we did a great job on Cousins, except that he's such an exceptional athlete and got such quickness for his size, that he shoots and goes and get(s) it back. He's a tremendous player, he really is. I think that somewhere along the line, the guy is going to be on the All-Star team, I really do. I just think he's a load in there."
-- Suns coach Alvin Gentry on the Kings' DeMarcus Cousins.

THE STAT: The Suns moved the ball extremely well, finishing the game with 27 assist, 11 more than the Kings.

TURNING POINT: The Kings came out flat in the third quarter and the Suns never let up. At the 10:27 mark of the third quarter, Cousins brought the Kings to within seven points. The game never got that close again.

QUOTABLE II: "I've kind of learned to reinvent myself and still try to be productive. There's times, when called upon, I can do things offensively, but just whatever it takes. Tonight's assignment was to try and guard Evans and contain him and just kind of be energetic on the defensive end. You know, just figure out ways to help the team."
-- Suns' Grant Hill on his role against he Kings.

HOT: Nash scored his first two points of the night with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. That didn't stop the 38-year old guard from dishing out 15 assists in just 29 minutes and leading his team to the easy victory.

NOT: Tyreke Evans had a miserable game, scoring just four points on 1-for-9 shooting. 39-year old Hill, playing in his 17th NBA season, shut down the Kings leading scorer.

BAD MOVE: The Kings did not or could not defend the perimeter the entire game. Nash broke down the defense and found wide-open shooters all night for the Suns.

NOTABLE: J.J. Hickson picked up an assist in the third quarter. That was just his fourth assist in the Kings last 15 games.

UP NEXT: For the Suns, Monday @ Golden State, Tuesday @ Denver, Wednesday vs. Atlanta. For the Kings, Tuesday @ Chicago, Wednesday @ New York, Friday @ Detroit.