PHOENIX — Jason Richardson scored 26 points, Amare Stoudemire had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 17 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 104-88 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.
The win was the Suns’ eighth in 10 games and gave them a four-game season sweep of the Kings.
It was the second consecutive game the Suns held an opponent under 100 points, a rarity for a team known for its offense but notorious for its poor defense.
Newly acquired Carl Landry led Sacramento with 18 points. Beno Udrih had 17 and Donte Greene and rookie Tyreke Evans each scored 16 for the Kings.
The Kings began the season 9-8, but since then they are 9-30. They are 5-25 on the road and have lost nine straight in Phoenix.
Grant Hill added 16 points and Nash scored 11 for the Suns, who are 13-0 when holding an opponent under 100 points.
The Suns (34-23) are 11 games over .500 for the first time since opening the season 14-3.
Despite playing the second night of a back-to-back, the Kings were sharp at the outset. They moved the ball crisply, hit 56.1 percent of their field goal attempts and racked up a Suns-like 16 fast-break points.
Greene, who burned the Suns for a career-high 31 points on Feb. 5 but failed to score Saturday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, led the balanced Kings offense with 11 points at halftime.
The Kings led by 10 points midway through the second period and 54-51 at halftime.
Richardson scored 19 points in the first half and Nash, playing despite a troublesome abdominal strain, already had 10 assists at the break.
The Kings began to wear down in the third quarter and the Suns capitalized. Phoenix held Sacramento to 15 points in the period, when the Kings made only five of 15 shots, and the Suns surged ahead 75-69. Stoudemire was the spark, scoring seven points and grabbing nine rebounds.
The Suns took control by opening the fourth quarter with seven straight points, five by Channing Frye, and the Kings never seriously threatened again.
NOTES: Evans is trying to become the fourth player in NBA history to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in his rookie season. Before Sunday’s game, he was averaging 20.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists. The only players who have accomplished that are Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Oscar Robertson. … Sacramento’s 15 points were a season low for a Suns’ opponent in the third quarter, one below the 16 Phoenix allowed in its previous game against Atlanta.
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