• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Nash's season-high 37 points propels Suns past Bucks

Jan 23, 2008 - 4:54 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns continued their domination of the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

Nash scored a season-high 37 points and handed out 10 assists as the Suns posted a 114-105 victory over the Bucks.

Raja Bell had 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and Amare Stoudemire also had 19 along with 12 rebounds for Phoenix, which has won four in a row.

"A lot of guys got us to the finish line, but Steve dragged us across it," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.

It was the Suns' 30th victory in their last 34 meetings against the Bucks dating to March 28, 1991.

Nash has been a Milwaukee killer this season, scoring a total of 72 points against the Bucks, including his previous high of 35 in a 122-114 win in Phoenix on January 12.

"I think it's more a coincidence than anything," Nash said of his recent success against the Bucks. "I was lucky to get it going a little tonight, and we made some big shots when it counted."

Phoenix, which became the second team in the NBA to reach the 30-win mark, is now 16-2 against teams from the Eastern Conference this season.

Nash put his stamp on this game late in the fourth quarter. The two-time MVP drilled one of his five 3-pointers to knot the score at 90-90 with 6:48 left. He also converted a 12-foot jumper to again tie the game at 94-94 with 5:09 remaining.

"In the fourth quarter with five minutes to go, the game was tied, so nothing really was going wrong," Bucks coach Larry Kryskowiak said. "The difference is they had players that made plays."

After Charlie Bell split a pair of foul shots to give Milwaukee a 99-98 lead with 3:41 left, Nash fed Stoudemire for a layup that put Phoenix up by one for good 11 seconds later. Nash put the Suns further ahead on consecutive 3-pointers including one at 2:03 remaining to make it, 106-99.

"You take one element away, then you have another to deal with - and tonight that was Steve," Stoudemire said.

The five-time All-Star, who connected on 13-of-23 from the floor, assisted two more Phoenix baskets before nailing four free throws in the final 50 seconds to help close out the scoring.

"When (Steve) gets hot, he's as hard to guard as anyone," Bell said. "You take it for granted because you see it so much, but we see what he means to our team."

Grant Hill, who returned to the starting lineup after missing seven games after undergoing an appendectomy procedure, scored eight points for Phoenix, which shot 49 percent (40-of-81).

Michael Redd scored 28 points and Andrew Bogut had his seventh straight double double with 19 and 13 boards for Milwaukee, which has dropped three straight and six of its last seven contests.

"We just let it get away, that's all I can say," Redd said. "Nash made some great shots. We just couldn't adjust to the pick and roll. We played a great team tonight."

Mo Williams was out with a sprained left pinky finger for the Bucks, who shot 46 percent (39-of-84).