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Suns extend winning streak to 12, beat Wade-less Heat

Dec 14, 2006 - 2:42 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- A day after Dwyane Wade had some teeth pulled, the Phoenix Suns performed surgery on the Miami Heat.

Shawn Marion collected 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Suns extended their winning streak to 12 games by posting a 99-89 victory over the shorthanded Heat.

Steve Nash recorded his seventh straight double-double with 18 points and 11 assists for the Suns (15-6), whose winning streak is their longest since a franchise-record 14-game run from December 1-30, 1992.

"I guess it's an accomplishment and something we should be proud of but it's all about building this team for the playoffs," Nash said.

"In the big picture, we've won 12 in a row so we are pretty happy," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We had a good lead, thought the game was over and kind of shut it down. When you shut it down like that mentally, it's tough to get it back."

The Suns had a few tense moments but continued their winning ways at the expense of the Heat, who were without Wade after the superstar had a pair of wisdom teeth pulled Tuesday. Wade is fifth in the NBA in scoring at 28.0 points per game.

Without Wade, the Heat had little chance as the Suns trailed for all of 14 seconds in completing a 5-0 road trip.

Nash scored eight points and handed out six assists in the first quarter, which ended with the Suns holding a 26-19 lead.

Marion scored seven points in the first quarter and six more in the second, when the lead continued to grow. The veteran forward made 10-of-14 shots from the field.

"A 5-0 road trip kind of says it all about where we are at, but it's all about making progress and continuing to improve as a team," Marion said. "We're still getting to know each other."

A pair of free throws by Amare Stoudemire at the 6:41 mark gave the Suns their biggest lead of the first half at 43-25. The Suns shot over 50 percent in the half, settling for a 56-40 cushion at the break.

The Suns led by as many as 25 points early in the fourth quarter before the Heat used a 22-2 run, capped by Jason Kapono's 3-pointer to pull within 90-85 with 2:39 remaining.

Kapono, who started in place of Wade, scored 11 of his 13 points in the surge. Undrafted rookie Robert Hite netted seven of his season-high 11 points during the burst.

But Nash answered with a shot from the arc with 2:19 left, and the Heat got no closer than six points the rest of the way.

"We took care of it when we had to," Nash said. "We lost all our momentum in the fourth quarter, but that's part of the game sometimes. You can't have it all."

"We obviously dug ourselves a hole against a very efficient team, but it was rather exciting at the end to have those kids bring us back," Heat coach Pat Riley said.

Alonzo Mourning scored a season-high 19 points and Udonis Haslem added 14 for the Heat, who shot just 40 percent (33-of-83) and made just 4-of-19 3-pointers.

"We went up against one of the best teams in the league without our two best players," Heat rookie guard Chris Quinn said. "The only thing we can do is play hard and just compete. We were able to make it interesting at least."

Boris Diaw scored 13 points and Stoudemire 12 for the Suns, who shot 48 percent (34-of-71) and made 10-of-26 attempts from the arc.