Stoudemire does it all as Suns collect third straight win

PHOENIX (AP) -- The Phoenix Suns can still run and shoot, too.

The Suns reverted to their freewheeling pre-Shaq ways to overcome the helter-skelter Golden State Warriors 123-115 Thursday night.

"We can adjust," Amare Stoudemire said. "That's the name of the game and that's how it's going to be in the playoffs. We can play big ball, or we can go small ball and outrun them, so we've got the best of both worlds."

Stoudemire had 36 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots and the Suns won their third in a row while snapping Golden State's three-game winning streak.

Steve Nash had 21 points -- including eight in a row in a big fourth-quarter stretch- and 13 assists. Raja Bell had 18 points, Boris Diaw 16 and Leandro Barbosa 14. Nash and Bell both were 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. The Suns made 12-of-24 3s, 7-of-12 in the second half.

"We're still in a training camp mode really for the rest of the year," Nash said, "but we're learning. I think we're getting more accustomed to playing both ways and how we can change on the fly and be comfortable and efficient."

Baron Davis scored 38, two shy of his career high, for the Warriors. Golden State had won three straight against Phoenix.

The Suns improved to 6-6 since Shaquille O'Neal joined their lineup to pull within a game of New Orleans for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference. Golden State dropped 1½ games behind No. 7 Dallas and two games ahead of No. 9 Denver.

The Warriors, coming off a 117-106 victory over Toronto on Thursday night, fell to 9-6 on the second of back-to-back games.

O'Neal was in foul trouble most of the night, playing just over 14 minutes. He had nine points and four rebounds.

Monta Ellis added 23 points on just 8-of-22 shooting for Golden State. Mickael Pietrus scored 16. Davis played 46-plus minutes after going 39½ the previous night. Ellis played 45:13 after going 32:36 on Wednesday.

"We had a bad third quarter," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "We just didn't have enough juice to win the game there. It certainly wasn't lack of effort or anything else. We just didn't make shots."

The Suns shot 55 percent in the first half and still trailed 62-57 at the break, thanks largely to 12 turnovers that resulted in 15 points for the Warriors. The Suns committed only four turnovers the last two quarters.

"I guess the biggest key was in the second half we didn't turn it over," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said.

Phoenix took control from long-range, going 5-for-7 on 3s in the third quarter, 3-of-4 by Bell.

His 3-pointer capped a 12-4 run to start the third quarter to put Phoenix ahead 69-66.

"They came out and put it on us," Davis said. "They were aggressive, they started running. I thought we came out slow, and it's not usually like us to come out and have a slow third quarter."

The Suns were irritated by the officiating throughout, drawing four technicals, three in the first half. D'Antoni got one in the first quarter. Grant Hill and Nash drew one apiece in the second.

O'Neal got a technical after heaving the ball down the court after drawing his fifth foul with 5:19 left in the third quarter.

O'Neal went to the bench and the Suns took off on a 15-3 run to go up 93-79 on Barbosa's fast-break layup following Stoudemire's blocked shot on Matt Barnes under the Golden State basket.

Stoudemire sealed the victory with six points, four on dunks, in the last 1½ minutes.

Game notes
Ellis had averaged 34 points and 64 percent shooting in the first two games against Phoenix this season. ... The Suns are 3-1 on their home stand with one to play -- Saturday against Sacramento. ... Phoenix has not lost four straight to the Warriors in 16 years. ... Gordan Giricek made his first two 3-pointers since coming to the Suns. He had been 0-for-6. ... Golden State took 23 more shots than Phoenix did but missed 62.