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Nash helps Suns rout Portland

Jan 7, 2012 - 7:18 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Steve Nash did not miss a shot, scoring 17 points to go with nine assists, as the Suns pasted the Trail Blazers, 102-77 on Friday night.

Nash went 7-for-7 from the field and was one of six Suns in double-figures. Jared Dudley had a game-high 18, Shannon Brown had 14, rookie Markieff Morris had 13 and Marcin Gortat and Hakim Warrick both finished with 12.

The Blazers, coming off of Thursday's win over the Lakers, appeared sluggish. They shot just 32.5 percent and committed 17 turnovers. LaMarcus Aldridge scored a team-high 14 points, while Nicolas Batum had 12 and Jamal Crawford chipped in 10.

"They were faster," said Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan. "It just seemed like we were running in quicksand all night."

Portland fell for just the second time in seven games this season. The team earned a hard-fought 107-96 victory over the Lakers on Thursday. Gerald Wallace scored 31 points in the win, but Portland's second-leading scorer managed just one point on 0-of-6 shooting against the Suns, epitomizing the team's effort.

Phoenix jumped out to a 22-12 lead on Nash's trey midway through the first and never faltered. The score was 49-34 at the half and 74-55 after three. The lead ballooned to as many as 27 in the lopsided victory.

"We had a great start," said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. "I thought we did a good job offensively of getting out and running early and we also made some shots. But I think more than anything we did a great job of defending."

The Suns have won three of five after starting the season with a pair of losses.

Game Notes

Suns forward Grant Hill scored just six points on 1-of-6 shooting but was largely effective guarding Wallace...Last season, Portland took three of four games from Phoenix and scored more than 100 points in all of those contests.