Nash, Suns rout Kings to complete perfect road trip

By Russ Edmondson, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday February 6, 2010 2:20AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (NBA.com exclusive) -- The Phoenix Suns had no problem in Sacramento on Friday night, dominating the Kings from start to finish.

The result was predictable as the Suns have been rolling on the road lately and the Kings have been struggling no matter where they play.

The Suns (31-21) have won their last four road games -- beating Houston (115-111), New Orleans (109-100) and Denver (109-97) prior to Friday's win over the Kings.

Veteran point guard Steve Nash seemed to do whatever he wanted throughout the game, totaling 23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds while turning the ball over just once in 32 minutes.

"We're getting some momentum, but I think we are consistent," Nash said. "The lead got down to 10 in the third quarter and then we went on a 22-3 run. [Winning four in a row on the road] shows that we are not as bad as we played for a while and it also shows how hard you have to play to win games."

Nash scored 20 and dished out six assists in the first half, helping Phoenix secure a 66-51 lead.

"Steve got us off to a great start," Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. "He seems to be really aggressive against these guys. I wish he would be that way more sometimes."

Nash is averaging 28.3 points and 9.3 assists in the three games against the Kings (16-33) this year, all Suns wins.

Amar'e Stoudemire, despite trade rumors surrounding him, continued his solid play with 30 points and nine rebounds.

Phoenix led 39-24 after one quarter and the lead never got below 10 over the final three quarters.

"It's a great team loaded with All-Stars and they played very, very well. We couldn't dig ourselves out of the hole," Sacramento coach Paul Westphal said. "The things we have been working on [lately] -- [this is] probably the worst team in the league to play against after you do that. We're trying to do a better job of controlling penetration and when you do that Nash can pick you apart."

Jason Richardson collected 16 points and Robin Lopez had 10 points and seven rebounds in just 18 minutes for Phoenix. Grant Hill added 10 points and five rebounds.

The Suns have now won a season-high five straight.

"We're starting to play well ... things are starting to feel good again," Hill said. "Tonight was kind of a tough game, playing against a team that is struggling [after playing several winning teams]. You have to maintain your focus and we did that. We had a goal that we wanted to finish this trip feeling positive and we did that."

"We've had some trouble holding leads this season. We did a very good job of staying aggressive," Gentry said. "That was probably the most complete game we've played on defense."

One highlight for the Kings was the play of second-year forward Donte Greene, who scored a career-high 31 points and also collected seven rebounds.

"I thought Donte [Greene] was outstanding for us tonight, obviously," Westphal said. "The numbers are excellent and he took a major step forward again as he has been lately. Donte has probably come further than anybody else we have this year improvement-wise and I don't see him slowing down at all."

Rookie Omri Casspi scored 17 and grabbed eight boards for Sacramento while rookie point guard Tyreke Evans had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Evans picked up three fouls in the first 7:20 and was limited to 27 minutes.

"With Tyreke getting in foul trouble early he wasn't as aggressive as he usually is," Gentry said.

Kings guard Kevin Martin was held to just five points on 2-for-9 shooting in 26 minutes.

"It just wasn't me out there," Martin said. "I have been here for five years and I just don't feel the same out there. I just can't put a finger on it. I have never been in a situation like this before. I feel fine physically, mentally? No."

Teammate Spencer Hawes says that Martin will regain his form eventually.

"It is just a matter of time before he gets back into his rhythm and adjusts to a bit of a new system," Hawes said. "He wasn't a 20-plus scorer in the league for the last few years for no reason. He is more than capable. He is just having some tough bounces."

Sacramento's Jason Thompson, on the East Coast for a funeral, missed his second consecutive game. Thompson, averaging 13.1 points and 8.7 rebounds, is expected to play on Sunday when the Kings play at Toronto.

The Kings have lost five straight games and 19 of their last 22. Phoenix won't play again until it hosts Portland on Wednesday.

• Suns: Barbosa
• Kings: Garcia, Thomas, Thompson

• Suns: --
• Kings: Nocioni, Westphal

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #28 Tommy Nunez Jr., #40 Leon Wood
• Attendance: 14922
• Duration: 2:27