PHOENIX — Amare Stoudemire and Leandro
Barbosa both scored 26 points and the Phoenix Suns used an
11-2 run late in the fourth quarter to defeat the depleted
Dallas Mavericks 109-97 on Thursday.
Steve Nash added 24 points and 13 rebounds
for the Suns.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points and grabbed
12 rebounds for Dallas while Jason Terry had 29 points.
Dallas trailed by two at 93-91 with 4:21
remaining when Phoenix broke the game open.
Boris Diaw hit a jumper and Stoudemire
followed with a dunk and a free throw to make it 98-91.
Barbosa’s lay-up increased the lead to
100-91 before Nowitzki connected with 3:05 left.
Another jumper by Diaw and a Barbosa lay-up
put Phoenix firmly in control with a 104-93 advantage with
1:51 remaining.
"They had an extra gear and we couldn’t get
there," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said.
"They just had a better fourth quarter. We
battled for four quarters but just didn’t have that finishing
kick."
The Mavericks were playing without the
injured Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Devin Harris.
Recently-acquired center Shaquille O’Neal
is not expected to make his Suns debut until after the
All-Star weekend as he recuperates from an injured hip.
Kirk Hinrich scored 24 points and four
other Chicago players finished in double figures as the Bulls
handed the Miami Heat a ninth consecutive loss with a 99-92
victory.
Joe Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds for
the Bulls, Thabo Sefolosha had 17 points and 12 rebounds and
Tyrus Thomas had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Andres Nocioni was also in double figures
for Chicago, scoring 18 points.
The Heat got 30 points from Dywane Wade and
23 from newly-acquired Shawn Marion.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has
torn a ligament in his little finger, the NBA team said on
Thursday.
Bryant initially hurt the finger, on his
right hand, during a game in New Jersey on Feb. 5 and he
aggravated it in Wednesday’s victory in Minnesota.
Doctors have recommended surgery to repair
the ligament which would lead to Bryant being out for six
weeks, the team said in a statement, but the player intends to
finish the season before going under the surgeon’s knife.
"My current thinking is to give my finger
some treatment and rest for a few days, and hope I can still
continue to compete at a high level after that rest," Bryant
said.
"I would prefer to delay any surgical
procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer’s
Olympic Games. But this is an injury that myself and the
Lakers’ medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on
a day-to-day basis," he said.
The Lakers lie second in the Pacific Division behind
Phoenix.
