After falling to Sacramento on Sunday, the Suns gave the Kings a royal beat down with a 139-111 home victory Friday.

Steve Nash came out of the gates on fire, nailing 6-of-8 in the first period to finish with 14 points and four assists for the period. The Suns outscored the Kings 20-6 in the paint and captured a 39-25 lead heading into the second period.

Phoenix allowed Sacramento to regain its momentum, heading into the half only up four. However, the Suns righted their ship in the third quarter, thanks to eight points from Jason Richardson and seven points from Nash. They continued to widen the lead in the final quarter, propelled by Nash's play.

Nash led eight Suns players in double figures with 29 points and nine assists in 31 just minutes, knocking down 12-of-19 from the floor. Richardson scored 19, while Matt Barnes posted 11 points and 11 boards.

“I like Steve to be assertive because he’s our best shooter,” Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry said. “When he’s going good it opens up the floor for everybody else. Steve knows when he needs to score and when he doesn’t.”

It was Phoenix’s season-high seventh straight home victory and it received 57 points off the bench. Jared Dudley nailed a career-high four three-pointers on his way to 15 points and six rebounds. It was just two off his season-high 17 points. But Gentry wasn’t surprised by Dudley's shooting prowess.

“Given the opportunity with his feet set, he’s a good shooter,” Gentry said. “He’s a good all-around player. He was ACC Player of the Year guys.”

Leandro Barbosa returned to the lineup from injury to add 15 points, while Goran Dragic notched 11 points to go along with his career-high five rebounds and career-high-tying four assists.

The Suns, who have led league in fast-break points since the All-Star break, outscored the Kings by 20 in that category Friday, while also holding a 20-point advantage over Sacramento in points in the paint.

Although Phoenix gave up career highs to Jason Thompson (23 points) and Spencer Hawes (22 points), it clamped down in the fourth period by limiting the Kings to just 18 points.

“We came out in the second half and responded to Alvin’s yelling at halftime and did a decent job,” Hill said.

The Mavericks were defeated 107-102 in Memphis Friday, allowing the Suns move to within three games of them for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Suns and Mavs clash at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday on ABC.

Gentry keeps stating that he’s not thinking about the Mavs, and when he was told the news during the second quarter that the Grizzlies had knocked them off, he put his fingers in his ears and playfully started saying, “La la la” like a little kid.

Barbosa's Return

After being sidelined with a proximal tibial bone bruise since March 18, Barbosa made his return to the court in impressive fashion, drilling 6-of-9 shots on his way to 15 points in just under 15 minutes.

“I didn’t feel any pain and I was happy to be back with my teammates,” Barbosa said. “My cardio-vascular wasn’t as good as normal, hopefully I will be better soon. I was more confident in the second half than I was in the first half.”

However, it was the way that he scored that was encouraging. Barbosa slashed to the basket with the quickness that he has become renowned for in recent years.

“He’s just at Warp 1, he’s not at Warp 2 yet,” Gentry said. “His conditioning and everything will get better, but I thought he did a good job for us. You could see that when he’s in the rotation it gives us just another good scorer on the floor and it changes the way we play from the standpoint that we’re putting a guy in that has a lot of speed and can do a lot of things.”

Statistical Tidbits

Since Alvin Gentry took over, the Suns are 5-0 when Grant Hill scores 20 or more points.

The Elias Sports Bureau reports that the Suns are on pace to become the first team since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 Bulls to shoot 50 percent or better from the field in back-to-back seasons.

The Suns are 32-6 since the start of 2007-08 when the team’s shooting guard scores 20 or more points. They are 11-3 when Richardson hits that mark.

Shaq, who is currently leading the league in field goal percentage (.609), could accomplish that feat for the 10th time in his career if he holds steady. Nene is second in the NBA with a .604 percentage.

Not only is Shaq shooting his career-best percentage from the field, but nearly from the free throw line as well. If he hits a career-high in both categories, he’ll be the first to player over the age of 35 to do so since the Celtics’ Robert Parish.

If Steve Nash nails 12 more three-pointers, he’ll pass Dan Majerle as the Suns’ all-time leader in made three-bombs.

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