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Suns look to stay on track against Warriors

Mar 15, 2009 - 6:22 AM By Matt Becker Stats Senior Writer

Phoenix (34-31) at Golden State (23-42), 9:00 p.m. EDT

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The Phoenix Suns managed to snap their longest losing streak in four years their last time out, but their up-tempo offense never got in rhythm.

That shouldn't be a problem Sunday night.

In a matchup featuring teams that like to push the ball up the court and don't play a lot of defense, the Suns look to build off their latest victory when they visit the Golden State Warriors.

After losing six straight for the first time since the 2004-05 season, Phoenix (35-31) defeated Oklahoma City 106-95 on Saturday. With the win, the Suns -- who have not missed the playoffs since 2004 -- pulled within five games of eighth-place Dallas in the Western Conference with 16 to play.

Phoenix ended its slide, but its high-powered offense was a bit flat.

Leandro Barbosa scored 11 of his 22 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes for Phoenix, which scored 34 points in the fourth after averaging 24.0 through the first three. The Suns also shot 44.8 percent from the floor and had 42 points in the paint after averaging 114.6 points on 51.8 percent shooting and 62.0 points in the paint in their previous eight games.

"We didn't have a great performance," said Steve Nash, who finished with 18 points to see his career-best streak of seven consecutive 20-point games come to an end. "But we found a way to win in the fourth quarter, which is where we've been lacking the last two weeks."

Phoenix should have better luck scoring against a Golden State team allowing a league-worst 111.5 points. The Warriors also score a lot (108.1) and there is usually no shortage of offense when these teams square off.

In 10 meetings since the start of the 2006-07 season, Phoenix is averaging 116.9 points to Golden State's 114.9. The Suns have won six of those contests, but have lost four straight at Oracle Arena since a 113-110 victory on November 20, 2006.

In the Suns' 124-112 defeat on February 4 in Oakland, Warriors forward Stephen Jackson had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double.

Two days later in Phoenix, the Suns beat the Warriors 115-105 behind 27 points from Grant Hill and Jason Richardson's 25.

Jackson finished with 24 in the rematch, and had 31 points and 10 assists in Friday's 119-110 victory over Dallas, the Warriors' second straight win after losing six of seven.

Monta Ellis, who missed five months after badly injuring his ankle last summer in an accident on a motorized scooter, had season highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds. He's taken time off since making his debut in January to rest the surgically-repaired ankle.

"He's coming back into his zone," said Jackson, who had with 29 points in Wednesday's 116-112 win over New Jersey. "Everybody knew it was just a matter of time. He's starting to get comfortable, his ankle is starting to get healthy and that's what we need."

While Ellis is returning to form and Brandan Wright came back Friday after a 27-game layoff with a partial left shoulder separation, the Warriors (23-42) lost center Andris Biedrins to a sprained left ankle after eight minutes.

Biedrins, who is averaging 12.4 points and 11.5 rebounds, missed five games last month with a sprained right ankle and is day-to-day.