Clippers' Kaman quiet as Suns' Stoudemire leads rout

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- This time, Amare Stoudemire was the big man in the middle, and sometimes on the perimeter as well.

Stoudemire had 30 points and 15 rebounds and played stifling defense against Chris Kaman to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 108-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.

Two nights earlier in the same building, 20-year-old Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum scored a career-high 28 points and had 12 rebounds in a 122-115 victory over Stoudemire and the Suns.

Against the Clippers, Stoudemire had 20 points and 11 rebounds by halftime as Phoenix took a 59-40 lead.

The Suns opened the gap to as many as 36 points, the last time at 79-43 midway through the third quarter as they handed the outmanned Clippers their fifth consecutive loss and 14th in 17 games.

Stoudemire, who went to the bench with 3:25 to go in the third quarter and didn't return, finished 11-of-14 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

"Obviously, he's so talented that it happens from time to time where he can dominate," said Suns guard Steve Nash, who had nine points and 12 assists. "Tonight was one of those nights where he got going early, got to the line and was really a handful for them."

Stoudemire said he was determined.

"I was more proud of my defense than my offense. Scoring is easy for me, but defense is where we're tying to get better as a team," he said. "I also think I did a great job against the Lakers, but Bynum just got a lot of over-the-top lobs and a lot of easy baskets around the bucket."

Grant Hill and Leandro Barbosa added 16 points apiece for Phoenix.

Kaman, held to two points on 1-of-11 shooting in the first half, scored seven in the second half and finished with nine rebounds to end his streak of 12 consecutive double-doubles. He went 4-of-17 from the field.

"That game just went too fast. I didn't play well," Kaman said. "I'm not going to play at that high level every night."

Stoudemire said taking the ball at Kaman made him work hard.

"I was just attacking Kaman offensively and making him play defense. I know that offsets a lot of centers," Stoudemire said. "It's tough for them to guard me because I'm a lot quicker than most centers. As a team, we did a great job of swarming him."

Corey Maggette, back in the lineup after missing a game with a sore right knee, led Los Angeles with 21 points. Cuttino Mobley and Al Thornton both added 14.

Maggette led the Clippers in the first half with 12 points and Mobley had 10.

The Suns were up 27-20 at the end of the first quarter and opened the lead to 54-32 on Barbosa's 3-pointer 2:39 before halftime.

Los Angeles' Tim Thomas sat out with a sprained left knee. He was hurt in the first quarter of Saturday's 99-90 loss in San Antonio.

Game notes
Stoudemire had 19 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's loss to the Lakers. ... The teams play again at Phoenix on Friday night. The Suns won the first meeting this season, 113-94 at home on Nov. 23. ... The Suns are 110-62 all-time against the Clippers in a series that dates to 1970-71, when the Clippers were the Buffalo Braves.