Stoudemire shines for Suns in win over Spurs

February 3, 2007 - 0:0
PHOENIX, Arizona (AFP) -- Amare Stoudemire scored 24 points and nabbed a career-high 23 rebounds on Thursday to help the Phoenix Suns post a 103-87 National Basketball Association victory over San Antonio.

Nash had 13 points and 11 assists for the Suns, who were a combined 0-6 against Western Conference contenders Dallas, Utah, the Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers entering the game.

The Suns were 16-2 against the rest of their Western Conference foes.

But the Suns broke through on the back of their superstar forward, who was selected earlier as a reserve for the West squad for the upcoming All-Star game.

Recovering from microfracture knee surgery, Stoudemire is slowly rounding into form this season. Matched up with former league Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan, Stoudemire was dominant, shooting 9-of-18 from the field and controlling the glass.

Stoudemire powered home numerous dunks after snatching tough offensive rebounds in traffic.

Phoenix, leading 85-84 with 5:20 left, finished the game on an 18-3 run, capped by Leandro Barbosa's two free throws with 18 seconds left.

The Suns rebounded from a 121-112 loss to Minnesota on Monday that ended their 17-game winning streak.

It was the longest streak in franchise history -- surpassing a 15-game run earlier this season -- and matched the seventh-longest in NBA annals.