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Suns take on Magic, look for ninth straight win

Jan 13, 2007 - 5:38 PM Orlando (22-15) at Phoenix (27-8) 9:00 pm EST

PHOENIX (Ticker) -- After beating the Eastern Conference's best team, the Phoenix Suns will face another one of the conference's top squads.

The Suns aim for their ninth straight victory when they face the Orlando Magic on Saturday.

Steve Nash led an explosive offensive assault with a season-high 21 assists - 14 in the first half - as Phoenix pulled away in the second quarter en route to its eighth straight win, a 109-90 victory over Cleveland on Thursday.

Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire posted double-doubles for Phoenix, which handed the Cavaliers their worst defeat of the season.

Orlando's Dwight Howard has collected 55 points and 35 rebounds in his last two games.

On Friday, Orlando dropped a 109-106 decision to the Los Angeles Lakers as Howard collected 25 points and 10 rebounds. Grant Hill scored 20 and Hedo Turkoglu added 18 for the Magic, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Orlando hopes to hold down one of the NBA's highest scoring teams on Saturday. The Magic boast the league's third-best scoring defense at 91.8 points per game.