Nash dishes 15 assists, Suns top Rockets

Steve Nash had 19 points and 15 assists and the Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets 115-105 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win.

Leandro Barbosa and Amare Stoudemire had 21 points apiece for the sharp-shooting Suns, who've won seven of the last eight meetings with Houston. Phoenix shot 62 percent (43-of-69) and went 10-for-19 from 3-point range to improve to 8-2, its best start since 2004-05.

Mike James scored 17 in place of Tracy McGrady, who missed his second straight game because of a sprained right elbow. Houston is 11-41 without McGrady since he joined the team before the 2004-05 season.

Luis Scola had 20 points and 11 rebounds, but Yao Ming had only 12 on 4-for-17 shooting for the Rockets, who have lost four in a row.

The Suns led 69-57 at halftime after shooting an astonishing 73 percent in the first half (27-of-37) — and only missing four shots inside the 3-point arc.

Phoenix missed 5 of its first 11 shots in the third quarter and Houston chipped away at the lead. Yao sank a free throw and James scored on a drive to pull the Rockets to 78-72.

Shawn Marion drove for a layup at the other end just five seconds later to start a decisive 16-4 Phoenix run. Marion had a two-handed dunk to put Phoenix up 88-72, then finished the third quarter with a wild hook shot from the top of the key that rattled in to put the Suns up 94-76. Marion scored 18 and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Rockets started the fourth quarter with a quick 9-0 burst. But Stoudemire scored twice to push the lead back over 10 and Nash's fadeaway with 6:31 left put the Suns up 100-87. Phoenix is 8-0 this season when it reaches 100 points.

Already short-handed without McGrady, the Rockets were further depleted when Yao and Shane Battier each picked up their second fouls in the first six minutes of the game and went to the bench.

Phoenix outscored Houston 18-13 without them and led 37-30 after one quarter. The Suns shot 75 percent in the quarter (15-of-20) and their only misses came from 3-point range.

Steve Francis started the second quarter, his long-awaited debut with the Rockets. Francis signed a two-year deal in July, but had been relegated to the bench since the season began, the third-string point guard behind Rafer Alston and Mike James.

The fans cheered when Francis brought the ball up the court for the first time and they gasped when he drove the basket and took a hard foul from Boris Diaw. Francis sank two free throws with 10:32 left in the half to cut Houston's deficit to 41-35.

The Rockets closed to 44-42, but Nash returned after a long rest and Phoenix outscored Houston 25-15 the rest of the half.

Notes:@ Rockets coach Rick Adelman said McGrady is likely to play in Houston's next game, against Dallas on Wednesday. "He really wants to play and I really want him to play," Adelman said. "But the doctor is just not comfortable. He's just thinking, if he gets a couple more days (to rest), it's going to be much smarter and wiser on our part. So that's what we're going to do." ... Suns guard Raja Bell sat out with a sprained right ankle. Coach Mike D'Antoni was hoping Bell would be ready for the Suns' next game, at Sacramento on Tuesday. "We do want to be cautious with it and we do have three days off until the next game," D'Antoni said. ... The Suns' 69 first-half points were a season high. ... The Rockets' four-game losing streak is their longest since April 2006.