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Suns look hope to continue climb vs. streaking Pistons

Mar 16, 2007 - 2:51 PM Detroit (41-22) at Phoenix (50-14) 10:00 pm EDT

PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Amare Stoudemire and the Phoenix Suns are riding high. Richard Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons are primed to bring them back to earth.

Two nights after a wild victory over league-leading Dallas, the Suns will look to creep closer to the top spot in the Western Conference when they take on the streaking Pistons on Friday.

Phoenix has won 10 of its 11 games since the All-Star break to pull within 2 1/2 games of Dallas (52-11) for the top spot in the Western Conference and the NBA's best record.

The teams will meet again on April 1 in Phoenix.

The Suns pulled closer with a dramatic 129-127 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday. Stoudemire collected 41 points and 10 rebounds and Steve Nash added 32 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds.

Stoudemire made 16-of-19 shots from the floor. The All-Star forward showed that he has fully recovered from microfracture knee surgery.

Detroit is 4-0 on its current road trip. The only team in the Eastern Conference with a winning record on the road (22-10), the Pistons are two games ahead of Cleveland (40-25).

The Suns posted a 108-101 triumph at Detroit on December 31 as Nash collected 35 points and 12 assists. Hamilton led the Pistons with 31 points.