A red-hot Phoenix club resumes a grueling five-game road
trip against Washington in the nation's capital Sunday.
The Suns improved to 2-1 on the trek Friday in Boston when Jason Richardson
hit 6-of-7 from three-point range en route to a 34-point, 10-rebound night,
helping Phoenix hand the Celtics their first loss of the season, a 110-103
decision at TD Garden.
Steve Nash chipped in his usual double-double of 16 points and 12 assists for
Phoenix, which rebounded from its only loss this season, a 122-100 setback to
Orlando last Wednesday. Amare Stoudemire ended with 22 points and seven
boards, while Grant Hill and Jared Dudley contributed 12 and 10 points,
respectively, in the win.
"I thought all night, to the three point shooters, instead of running them off
the line we stopped short and allowed them to shoot the three," Celtic forward
Paul Pierce said. "That's their system, that's the situations they put you in
and it worked to their advantage tonight. Just a step slow with the defense."
The Suns will finish their trip Monday in Philadelphia.
The Wizards, meanwhile, dropped their third straight game in Indianapolis on
Friday when Danny Granger scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed six
rebounds, as the Indiana Pacers earned an easy 102-86 win over Washington.
Caron Butler had a game-best 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Brendan Haywood
grabbed 19 boards to go along with nine points for Washington, which has
dropped four of six to begin the 2009-10 campaign. Randy Foye and Gilbert
Arenas netted 16 and 13 points, respectively.
"We just couldn't get it together," Arenas said. "Couldn't get a run on
offense and couldn't get stops on defense."
Phoenix has won five straight and six of its last seven meetings with the
Wizards.
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