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Nash lifts Suns over Bucks

Feb 8, 2012 - 5:24 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - The Suns saw a 21-point lead evaporate, but Steve Nash's short jumper with five seconds remaining lifted Phoenix over Milwaukee, 107-105.

Nash, who celebrated his 38th birthday Tuesday, ended with 18 points and 11 assists for the Suns, who have won three in a row. Marcin Gortat tallied 21 points and nine rebounds.

Jared Dudley (19), Channing Frye (14), Michael Redd (14) and Grant Hill (13) rounded out Phoenix's double-figure scorers. Redd was playing against his former team.

"It was pretty much fun to watch. Mike [Redd] obviously had a huge career here. Trying to be back playing is amazing," Nash said. "For him to come back to Milwaukee under all the things he had to face with his injuries and put on a show like that in the first was exciting for all of us on the bench."

Drew Gooden had 25 points for the Bucks, who have dropped three straight. Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Dunleavy each tallied 17 points, with the former adding 12 rebounds.

The Bucks trailed by 19, 86-67, with 4:34 left in the third, before scoring 12 straight points to make it a game. Dunleavy's three-pointer cut the gap to 86-79 with 1:15 remaining.

Milwaukee shot 59.1 percent from the field in the frame to only trail by seven, 88-81, after three.

Dunleavy made two more three-pointers during a 13-2 Bucks run to start the fourth. Beno Udrih's jumper gave the home team a 94-90 edge with 7:32 to play.

The Suns fought back and it remained a tight battle until the final seconds. Ilyasova made two free throws with 44.7 seconds remaining to make it a 105-105 game.

Hill missed a jumper at the other end, but Gortat grabbed a big offensive rebound and called timeout with 20.2 ticks left on the clock. Nash then drove to the hoop and made a six-foot bank shot to give Phoenix the lead with five seconds to go.

Great defense at the opposite end prevented the Bucks from getting a shot off as time expired.

The Suns dominated in the first half, shooting 62.2 percent from the field and leading by as many as 17. The score was 67-50 after two periods.

"There's some sensitive guys on occasion in there. You want to let it play out how it plays out," Bucks head coach Scott Skiles said.

Phoenix started the second half on a 6-2 flurry to build a 21-point margin, with Gortat's hook shot making it 73-52.

But the Bucks showed signs of life by responding with an 8-0 surge.

Game Notes

The Suns have won four in a row against Milwaukee, which is only 2-15 in the previous 17 contests in this series...Redd, who signed with the Suns in December, had spent his entire career with Milwaukee, averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 578 contests over 11 seasons...The Bucks went 18-for-20 from the foul line, while the Suns went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe...Milwaukee shot 42.9 percent from the field in the first half.