PHOENIX Jan 12, 2005 — The ever-energized Phoenix Suns made the best in the East look slow and overmatched just like they've done to almost every opponent so far in a remarkable season.
Amare Stoudemire scored 34 points and the Suns won their seventh straight 122-107 over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night in what turned out to be a mismatch of the teams with the best records in the West and East.
All five Suns starters hit double figures in the first half and Phoenix improved to 31-4, the sixth-best start for a team with four losses in league history. Four of the five teams ahead of the Suns went on to win the NBA title. Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said he knew what the Suns would do, but he couldn't stop them from doing it.
"We got absolutely dominated from the get-go," he said. "Look, that's a great team. I'm a little humbled by the fact that we could not come up with any kind of plan to stop them from a coaching standpoint."
Shawn Marion added 26 points and 11 rebounds, Steve Nash 16 points and 16 assists and Joe Johnson 24 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who topped 120 points for the second game in a row and seventh time this season. The Suns have won 18 of 19.
"They're a very unselfish team," Miami's Eddie Jones said. "And they push it right at you, right down your throat."
Despite his team's eye-popping record, coach Mike D'Antoni won't call the Suns the best team in the NBA.
"You know, San Antonio's good," he said. "They only beat us by 20 points, so it's kind of hard for me to say we're better than they are. We're good. We're playing real well, and we're going to get better."
Shaquille O'Neal had 34 points and 11 rebounds, but the Heat beaten at Seattle on Sunday lost two in a row for only the second time this season. The first was early November, the fifth and sixth games of the season. Dwyane Wade added 23 points for Miami.
Stoudemire relished his matchup with O'Neal, his boyhood idol.
"I did a little bit of everything," Stoudemire said. "I tried to mix it up on him, and use my jumper. I figured he was going to back up a little bit and let me shoot, and when he came out, I took it to the rack and tried to get fouls or make plays for my teammates."
O'Neal has always liked Stoudemire.
"Tonight it was the old me versus the young me," O'Neal said. "I wanted to make him shoot the jumper, and he shot it, and he shot it real well. He's a great kid."
Phoenix shot out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter, and Miami never was closer than 10 again.
The Heat were down 71-61 on Wade's basket early in the second half, but the Suns went on one of their trademark runs, this one 18-4, to go up 89-65 on Stoudemire's soaring dunk with 6:40 left in the third.
In the fourth quarter, Stoudemire was knocked down by O'Neal, but flipped the ball in sidearmed as he fell. He made the free throw for a three-point play to put Phoenix up 105-85 with 9:46 left.
O'Neal's basket cut it to 106-89, but Marion responded with a baseline jumper, then Johnson made his fourth 3-pointer of the game, and third of the half, and it was 111-91 with 7:24 remaining.
"They shot the ball very well, and we made too many mistakes," O'Neal said. "Every time we'd almost get back in it, we'd have a turnover and they'd go down and make a 3."
The game's pattern was the same, but less one-sided, than Phoenix's 124-89 rout of Indiana on Sunday. In that game, the Suns led by 22 in the first quarter. Notes
The Heat and Suns are a combined 30 games ahead of their pace from last season. … Phoenix began a stretch of four games in five nights, the next three on the road. … O'Neal and Stoudemire are 1-2 in the NBA in dunks. … Suns chairman and CEO Jerry Colangelo, who underwent prostate cancer surgery on Dec. 30, attended the game and got a big cheer when shown on the arena's big screen.
Amare Stoudemire scored 34 points and the Suns won their seventh straight 122-107 over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night in what turned out to be a mismatch of the teams with the best records in the West and East.
All five Suns starters hit double figures in the first half and Phoenix improved to 31-4, the sixth-best start for a team with four losses in league history. Four of the five teams ahead of the Suns went on to win the NBA title. Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said he knew what the Suns would do, but he couldn't stop them from doing it.
"We got absolutely dominated from the get-go," he said. "Look, that's a great team. I'm a little humbled by the fact that we could not come up with any kind of plan to stop them from a coaching standpoint."
Shawn Marion added 26 points and 11 rebounds, Steve Nash 16 points and 16 assists and Joe Johnson 24 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who topped 120 points for the second game in a row and seventh time this season. The Suns have won 18 of 19.
"They're a very unselfish team," Miami's Eddie Jones said. "And they push it right at you, right down your throat."
Despite his team's eye-popping record, coach Mike D'Antoni won't call the Suns the best team in the NBA.
"You know, San Antonio's good," he said. "They only beat us by 20 points, so it's kind of hard for me to say we're better than they are. We're good. We're playing real well, and we're going to get better."
Shaquille O'Neal had 34 points and 11 rebounds, but the Heat beaten at Seattle on Sunday lost two in a row for only the second time this season. The first was early November, the fifth and sixth games of the season. Dwyane Wade added 23 points for Miami.
Stoudemire relished his matchup with O'Neal, his boyhood idol.
"I did a little bit of everything," Stoudemire said. "I tried to mix it up on him, and use my jumper. I figured he was going to back up a little bit and let me shoot, and when he came out, I took it to the rack and tried to get fouls or make plays for my teammates."
O'Neal has always liked Stoudemire.
"Tonight it was the old me versus the young me," O'Neal said. "I wanted to make him shoot the jumper, and he shot it, and he shot it real well. He's a great kid."
Phoenix shot out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter, and Miami never was closer than 10 again.
The Heat were down 71-61 on Wade's basket early in the second half, but the Suns went on one of their trademark runs, this one 18-4, to go up 89-65 on Stoudemire's soaring dunk with 6:40 left in the third.
In the fourth quarter, Stoudemire was knocked down by O'Neal, but flipped the ball in sidearmed as he fell. He made the free throw for a three-point play to put Phoenix up 105-85 with 9:46 left.
O'Neal's basket cut it to 106-89, but Marion responded with a baseline jumper, then Johnson made his fourth 3-pointer of the game, and third of the half, and it was 111-91 with 7:24 remaining.
"They shot the ball very well, and we made too many mistakes," O'Neal said. "Every time we'd almost get back in it, we'd have a turnover and they'd go down and make a 3."
The game's pattern was the same, but less one-sided, than Phoenix's 124-89 rout of Indiana on Sunday. In that game, the Suns led by 22 in the first quarter. Notes
The Heat and Suns are a combined 30 games ahead of their pace from last season. … Phoenix began a stretch of four games in five nights, the next three on the road. … O'Neal and Stoudemire are 1-2 in the NBA in dunks. … Suns chairman and CEO Jerry Colangelo, who underwent prostate cancer surgery on Dec. 30, attended the game and got a big cheer when shown on the arena's big screen.
