Shawn Marion and Tony Delk scored 21 points apiece to lead a balanced attack as the Suns routed the Kings, 114-88, for their fifth straight home victory.
Last season, the Kings had the Suns' number. Sacramento took three of four regular-season meetings, including a 100-89 win here on March 7 in which it stormed back from a 28-point deficit and spoiled the retirement ceremonies of former Suns guard Kevin Johnson.
 Sun Stephon Marbury peeks out from behind Vlade Divac. Barry Gossage NBAE/Getty Images |
The teams met again in the first round of the playoffs, where the Kings again took three of four, including the last two here in which they erased deficits of 19 and 17 points. That prompted some changes for Phoenix, including the huge deal that sent Jason Kidd to New Jersey for Stephon Marbury.
"It does come into play pretty big," Suns guard Penny Hardaway said. "They still have it in their minds that when they get down here, they're going to be able to come back no matter what the score is. We want to get that out of their heads and let them know it is going to be a fight here."
This was their first meeting of the season with the Kings and the Suns came out with a vengeance. They never trailed as they sprinted to a 20-4 lead in the first eight minutes.
Phoenix opened a 61-39 halftime lead and withstood a small push by Sacramento in the third quarter before putting away the game.
"They were the team that put us out last year," said Delk, a former King. "They had the edge on us beating us six times last year. We wanted to show them we got better. It was a good test for us beating a good offensive team and we did a good job sustaining a lead."
"For a complete game, that was pretty impressive," Suns coach Scott Skiles said. "It was clear we had all the answers."
Hardaway scored 19 points and John Wallace had a season-high 19 for the Suns, who had season bests in points, rebounds (57) and offensive boards (24).
Wallace got extended minutes as forward Tom Gugliotta sat out with a strained left quadriceps.
"It's really good for John Wallace because he's a guy that hasn't been playing and he's been staying in shape, working hard, not complaining and doing everything that's asked of him," Skiles said. "Tonight, he came in and performed."
"Hopefully, when Googs comes back I can still be in the loop somehow," Wallace said. "If not, I'll just continue to work hard because that's what I do. I have the greatest job in America. Sometimes, I just wake up and think, I'm in the NBA."
Chris Webber had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who were beaten on the boards, 57-40, committed 20 turnovers and had a four-game winning streak snapped.
"Their team just manhandled us tonight," said Kings coach Rick Adelman. "They beat us on the boards, we turned it over, they beat us to loose balls and they beat us in every way they can beat us."
"You can't expect to get in the hole and come back," Webber said. "Just because we did it before here doesn't mean we're always going to be able to do it."
It looked like the Kings were coming back again when Webber's dunk cut the deficit to 68-56 midway through the third period. The Suns immediately rattled off nine straight points as they rebuilt the lead to 77-56 on Wallace's dunk with 4:04 to go.
"They made a little run in the third quarter and we responded well and the rest was history," said Wallace, who made 7-of-13 shots and grabbed nine rebounds.
Phoenix bolted to a 10-2 lead and extended to 20-4 on a layup by Hardaway with 3:47 left in the first quarter. Marion and Rodney Rogers scored six points apiece in the early surge.
The Suns led 27-14 after one period, their best defensive first quarter of the season. Marbury scored nine points in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer in the final minute that gave Phoenix a 61-37 bulge.
Marbury had 15 points and 12 assists and Marion swept 13 boards for the Suns, who shot 46 percent (48-of-104).
Mike Bibby scored 15 points but Peja Stojakovic managed just six -- nearly 17 below his average -- for the Kings, who shot 45 percent (37-of-83).