NBA teams
PHX

99

15-6
Final
MIA

89

9-12
RecapBox Score
1 2 3 4 T
PHX 26 30 28 15 99
MIA 19 21 23 26 89
Kaseya Center, Miami
17y

Suns hold off Heat for 12th straight win

Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns

MIAMI (AP) -- Miami Heat coach Pat Riley has nothing but high
praise for Steve Nash, the NBA's two-time reigning MVP.

Elias Says
Phoenix Suns

The Suns completed a sweep of their five-game road trip with a 99-89 win against the Heat, and all five of their victories were against Eastern Conference teams. Over the last ten years, the only other NBA team to sweep a road trip of at least five games against interconference opponents was the Lakers in 1999-2000 (who swept a six-game trip through the East).

• For more Elias Says, click here

"He may be the best player in the league," Riley said.

Riley's opinion was backed up Wednesday night, when Nash hit a
3-pointer with 2:20 left to stop a huge Miami run and help lift the
Phoenix Suns to their 12th straight victory, 99-89.

The win turned out to be a struggle for Phoenix, which wasted
most of a 25-point fourth-quarter lead.

"We took care of it," Nash said. "We lost all our momentum in
the fourth quarter. That happens -- but we won the game."

Shawn Marion had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Nash had 18 points
and 11 assists and Boris Diaw scored 13 points for the Suns, who
have the second-longest winning streak in franchise history and
finished a road trip 5-0 for the first time since April 1998.

"We should have opened the game and closed it," Marion said.
"This is their home court. They're not an NBA team if they just
sit down."

Alonzo Mourning had 19 points and Udonis Haslem added 14 for
Miami, which played without Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade and
fell to 9-12.

Phoenix led 88-63 with 9:52 left, before the Heat scored 17
straight points and went on to outscore the Suns 22-2 over a
6½-minute stretch to draw within five. But Nash's shot from the top
of the key ended that burst, and sent the Heat to their seventh
loss in 11 home games this season.

"Nash makes the whole thing work," Riley said. "We got
something going in the fourth quarter and made it exciting, and he
makes the 3 to really break our back. ... That team is a very good
team. They belong at the top."

The Heat's rally came primarily with only one starter, Jason
Kapono, on the floor. Kapono had 11 points during the run,
including a 3-pointer with 2:40 left that got Miami within 90-85.
But Nash answered that one 20 seconds later with his 3, and the
Suns would hang on from there.

"The league MVP," Heat forward James Posey said. "He had a
big 3 there."

Amare Stoudemire had 12 points, while Leandro Barbosa and James
Jones each scored 10 for Phoenix.

Kapono finished with 13 points, while Robert Hite -- one of the
key Heat players in their big run -- scored 11 and Dorell Wright
added 10.

"You've got to give a good effort against them because it's
like a track meet out there," Hite said. "We gave it a great
effort at the end. A couple more shots go down, a couple more
chances, and it's a different story."

The undermanned Heat were without their two biggest stars -- Wade
had wisdom teeth removed Tuesday, and O'Neal missed his 17th game
as he continues to recover from surgery to repair torn knee
cartilage.

For most of the game, it looked like even they wouldn't be
enough to help the Heat against an onslaught like Phoenix's.

The Suns connected on 10 shots from 3-point range and trailed
only once -- 2-0 after Heat guard Jason Williams opened the game
with two free throws.

"We played pretty well, had a good lead, thought the game was
over and kind of shut it down," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.
"You have to give them credit. They didn't quit. They played good
and hard. That's a trademark of a Pat Riley team."

The Suns took a 16-point lead into halftime and stretched it to
84-63 entering the final quarter. Phoenix then had the first four
points of the fourth, before the Heat began their comeback try.

"We weren't going to give up like that," Posey said. "We
tried to give ourselves a chance. Just got in too deep of a
hole."

Game notes
Phoenix's franchise record for consecutive wins is 14, set
in December 1992. ... Miami F Antoine Walker, who was 0-for-3 in 10
first-half minutes, did not play in the second half. ... The Suns
shot 53 percent in the first quarter, which is the worst they've
shot in the opening 12 minutes during this 12-game winning streak.
... Wade was not flying with the Heat to Washington on Wednesday
night and isn't expected to play when Miami visits the Wizards on
Friday. He could play Saturday when Miami hosts Memphis.

^ Back to Top ^