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Streaking Suns start road trip against slumping Nets

Dec 7, 2006 - 2:43 PM Phoenix (10-6) at New Jersey (7-10) 7:30 pm EST

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) - The Phoenix Suns hope to continue their season-best winning streak on a long road trip.

Starting their tour of the Eastern Conference, the Suns will look for their eighth straight win Thursday when they take on the struggling New Jersey Nets.

Phoenix is 2-4 on the road this season, and five of its seven wins during its hot streak have come at home. However, on Thursday, the Suns will start a five-game road swing - with all five coming against Eastern Conference opponents.

On Tuesday, Shawn Marion made his first seven shots and scored 15 of his 23 points in the first quarter as Phoenix started quickly and sped to its seventh consecutive win, a 127-102 victory over slumping Sacramento.

Leandro Barbosa scored 26 points, Amare Stoudemire added 17 and 13 rebounds and Steve Nash collected 11 and a league season-high 20 assists for Phoenix, which shot a blistering 69 percent (18-of-26) in the first quarter. Nash fell two shy of his career-high 22 assists at New York on January 2.

The Nets missed their first six shots and never really found a rhythm in a 92-75 loss to red-hot Dallas on Tuesday. Superstar Vince Carter was just 1-of-7 in the first half.

New Jersey rallied in the third quarter behind the energy of reserve center Mikki Moore. He had eight points and five rebounds in the period, when the Nets inched as close as five points, but the Mavericks pulled away.

Phoenix topped the Nets, 99-93, on November 24 for its fifth win in six games against New Jersey.