Suns Right The Ship With 112-106 Win Over Mavericks

Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points and Steve Nash added 19 points and 11 assists, as Phoenix downed Dallas, 112-106.

Jason Richardson chipped in with 17 points, while key components of Phoenix's second unit helped in the rally. Goran Dragic tallied 13 points and Louis Amundson donated 12 for the Suns, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

"It was a great win for us. I thought that we played really the way we did the first month of the season," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "We had grittiness and just refused to lose. I thought our defense was great."

All five Maverick starters reached double figures in the loss. Jason Terry scored 21 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points and Shawn Marion contributed 15 points and eight rebounds. Dallas saw its two-game winning streak come to an end thanks to just 16 fourth-quarter points.

Phoenix's bench brought toughness on defense and scored 19 of the club's 28 fourth-quarter points as Stoudemire and Nash cheered on from the bench. Dragic and Earl Clark drained consecutive treys to bring the Suns within 92-90 early in the fourth, and then took the lead several minutes later at 99-98 on Amundson's slam in transition.

Amundson's free throw capped nine straight for the home team to open a 102-98 margin with 4:33 to play. Nash played sporadically in the fourth, but did contribute with a momentum-saving three and a key layup for a 109-104 lead with 29.3 seconds to go.

Terry hit two free throws on the other end, but Grant Hill calmly sank two free throws on the other end. Jason Kidd then committed his fourth and costliest turnover to seal Dallas' fate.

"We've got to get the ball into people's hands that can put it in the basket," Terry said. "Their bench outplayed us all night."

The Mavericks came out of the gates strong, scoring eight in a row capped by Terry's jumper for a 20-10 edge. The margin was as large as 12 in the period -- one that finished with the home team trailing, 34-25.

The Suns stayed close in the second quarter and claimed the final four points to close the margin to 59-55 after 24 minutes of game action.

Phoenix took the lead in the third at 67-66 on a Richardson trey, but Dallas regained momentum and lead by as many as seven in the period before holding a 90-84 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Phoenix shot 54.8 percent form the floor and drained 9-of-15 three- pointers...Dallas made 50 percent of its shots...Kidd scored 13 points with six assists...Erick Dampier totaled 12 points for the Mavericks...Phoenix snapped an 18-game losing streak on TNT.