It’s déjà vu all over again. The last time you saw the Suns win a regular-season game at home, it was the last contest of the 2008-09 season and they were running the Warriors out of the building. Fast forward to the home opener of the 2009-10 season and Suns fans saw the same result.

Phoenix led by 11 at the half before rolling to a 123-101 home victory over Golden State, marking their tenth straight home win and their ninth consecutive over the Warriors. The key to their offensive explosion: deadly three-point shooting.

Channing Frye was the major culprit, drilling 6-of-7 from three-point land to total 22 points and eight rebounds. The Suns finished 12-of-22 from downtown.

Frye had it going so well that Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry was getting annoyed at Frye for hesitating even a tad on his shots.

“My problem is that I think too far ahead,” Frye said. “I think after I make two or three, ‘What would I do if (I was on defense) and he just didn’t get close enough. So I was thinking for him instead of just reacting.

“Leandro (Barbosa)told me, ‘Hey man, shoot. Don’t dribble. Don’t do nothing. Just shoot.’”

It’s a change for Frye to be that open, because in practice, his fellow teammates are quite aware of his long-range shooting ability. While most of the league knew that Frye had a deadly outside touch, few scouts were aware that his feel extended to behind the three-point arc.

Credit Suns GM and fellow U of A alum Steve Kerr for doing his homework there. Although Frye was only a 29 percent three-point shooter coming into this season, the 6-11 center nailed 43 percent of his attempts this preseason.

The man encouraging Frye to shoot, Leandro Barbosa, was also on fire. The Brazilian Blur drilled 9-of-13 shots from the floor to finish with 24 points, while Amar’e Stoudemire added 20 points, five rebounds, two steals a block and two charges.

Stoudemire was crashing hard to the basket on his pick-and-rolls, throwing down two “vintage-Amar’e” in the second half. He was one of seven Suns players with seven or more points.

After totaling only two fast-break points in the first half against the Clippers a game ago, the Suns quickly found their identity by racking up 30 for the game. But Gentry was more impressed with the team’s defense.

“We worked hard to hold them under 100 points,” he said. “I thought our defense was really good. We did a really good job on their scoring threats.”

The 2009-10 Suns can become just the 10th team in franchise history to start a season 2-0 and the first since 2004-05. In addition, Gentry improved to 4-0 as the Suns’ Head Coach in games in which Stoudemire has suited up.

Doing the Dishes

Remember when that smart writer from Suns.com said that Steve Nash would lead the NBA in assists, well, that guy might be onto something. Nash, dealt out 20 dimes on Friday, marking his first 20-assist game since handing out 21 against the Pistons on Feb. 8, 2009.

It was the sixth time he’s accomplished that feat in his career but the first time he’s ever done so in regulation. His assist-to-turnover ratio was almost 7-to-1 for the night.

“I never talk about Steve because it’s kind of understood,” Gentry said. “You look down and he has 18 points and 20 assists and you’re like, ‘That’s what he’s supposed to do.’ Every time we need something good to happen he seemed to make a play for us.”

Still one of the most deadly playmakers in the league, a game after scoring 15 of his 24 points in the fourth period to lead his team to a come-from-behind victory over the Clippers, he shifts gears and shreds the Warriors’ defense with his passing.

“He’s a genius,” Frye said. “If one time he misses you because he shoots he’s doing that on purpose so the next three times you can shoot. I think he plays the game almost like a chessboard.”

Not for Grant-ed

Although Hill averaged a respectable 12 a game last season, he torched the Warriors for 27 a night last year at US Airways Center. Hill was back at it again Friday, pouring in 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the first quarter.

He finished the night with 18 points, sitting out most of the fourth period because of the Suns’ big lead. Hill had a thought once he learned of his success at home against Golden State. “When do we play them again,” he joked.”They like to get up-and-down and so do I, so maybe that plays into it a little bit.”

Hill has also shown his talent for diversification this season. A game after leading his team in rebounding, the former Dukie took it upon himself to score early and stop the Warriors’ leading scorer from a year ago.

Jackson was 6-of-13 from the field to finish with only 13 points, to go along with his four turnovers.

Rebounding From a Lack of Rebounding

One of the most notable weaknesses coming into the regular season was the Suns’ knack for getting outrebounded. After the last preseason game against Portland, Gentry said enough was a enough.

“Alvin really emphasized it in practice and really got on us,” Hill said. “I think we’ve come out and responded and done a pretty good job of it. He just have to continue to that together as a unit.”

In order to make strides in that area, Gentry would make the second team crash the boards on the offensive end and if the first team didn’t hold them off, Gentry would make them run. Although the Suns played against two teams with more size to start the season, the Suns pulled down more rebounds than their opponents in each of their first two games.

Hill said that the result of Gentry’s drills has not only been better rebounding on the defensive end, but also the offensive end. The Suns outrebounded the Clippers 10-7 on the offensive end on Wednesday and matched the Warriors tonight (9-9).

Gentry said that the improved rebounding has been a result of gang rebounding and the guards pitching in from the perimeter. Although Frye and Lou Amundson led the way with eight rebounds apiece, Nash and Hill each hauled down six boards while Jared Dudley and Stoudemire chipped in with five apiece.

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