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Knicks cruise in Stoudemire's return to Phoenix

Jan 8, 2011 - 7:13 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his return to Phoenix, as the Knicks dominated the Suns, 121-96.

Stoudemire spent the first eight years of his career with Phoenix, where he was a five-time All-Star. He then landed in New York following a sign-and- trade deal this past offseason. The Knicks gave Stoudemire a five-year deal worth nearly $100 million dollars.

"I had one objective and that was too dominated from the start," Stoudemire said. "That was my main goal was to dominate from the get go. I got it going early. Then in the second half they went to a zone and my teammates got it going. The great thing about our team is that we're so versatile that no matter how teams play us we can adjust."

Raymond Felton made five three-pointers en route to 23 points for New York, which started a four-game road trip on Friday. Felton also dished out 11 assists and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Wilson Chandler tallied 16 points and six rebounds while Landry Fields donated 14 points and 10 boards. Shawne Williams had 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the victors.

Vince Carter finished with 19 points for the Suns, who have lost three in a row. Goran Dragic added 17 points while Steve Nash chipped in with 14 points and nine assists.

The Knicks started the game on an 8-2 run and never looked back. Chandler's jumper with under four minutes left gave New York a 20-10 edge. It was a 30-22 game after 12 minutes of action.

Holding a 37-31 lead midway through the second quarter, the Knicks got consecutive three-pointers from Williams and Fields to make it 43-31.

New York took a 55-45 margin into the locker room, and scored 14 straight points early in the third. Williams tallied nine points during the burst, which Stoudemire capped with an alley-oop dunk for a 77-54 lead with seven minutes to go.

The Knicks went on a 7-0 flurry moments later to make it 84-60. It was 93-71 heading to the fourth.

New York outscored Phoenix, 28-25, in the final frame.

"We didn't play well at all," Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said. "I think we make progress defensively and then we take steps backwards. When we struggle with our shot, we have to be able to guard guys defensively so there is not that separation. We didn't do that. The end result is an embarrassing loss."

Game Notes

The Knicks had lost their last seven visits to the desert...New York head coach Mike D'Antoni coached the Suns from 2003 to 2008, helping the franchise win 50-or-more games in four consecutive seasons and earning the NBA's Coach of the Year Award in 2004-05...The Knicks shot 50 percent from the field, while the Suns made 42.7 percent of their shots...New York made 17-of-33 shots from beyond the arc, while Phoenix went 6-of-24 from three-point range.