Nash near-perfect in Suns' romp

Steve Nash had a near-flawless game and five Phoenix players scored 17 points or more Friday night in the Suns' 115-95 rout of Minnesota, the Timberwolves' 15th consecutive loss on the road.

Nash was 6-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line for 17 points with 13 assists. He had one turnover in 28 minutes.

Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points, Raja Bell 20, Leandro Barbosa 19 and Shawn Marion 18 for the Suns, who shot 54 percent from the field. They were at 60 percent before coach Mike D'Antoni began to empty the bench midway through the final quarter.

Al Jefferson had 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who fell to 1-19 on the road. Rashad McCants added 19 points and Craig Smith 16.

One of the Timberwolves' five victories this season came against the Suns, 100-93 at Minnesota on Dec. 8. The rematch, though, was not close.

The Suns were coming off a 106-98 victory over the Lakers on Thursday in Los Angeles. Nash had 20 assists in that win, which moved Phoenix back ahead of the Lakers with the best record in the Western Conference. The Suns had plenty left to handle hapless Minnesota for their ninth win in 12 games but just their third in the last five.

Nash had 13 points and nine assists in the first half. Seven of his assists came in the second quarter, when the Suns transformed a 32-28 deficit into a 63-49 halftime lead.

Phoenix shot 65 percent (13-of-20) from the field in the second, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

Marion sank two 3s and Barbosa one in a 13-0 run that put the Suns ahead 54-43 with 3:07 left in the half. Nash made two free throws with 35 seconds to play, then Boris Diaw sank a 3 from the corner to give Phoenix its 14-point lead at the break.

The Suns turned it into a blowout in the third quarter, using an 8-0 run — including two virtually uncontested fast-break layups by Bell — that gave Phoenix an 86-60 lead on Barbosa's drive to the hoop with 3:38 left.

Notes: Minnesota's lone road win was Nov. 26 at New Orleans. ... The Timberwolves play four of their next six on the road. ... Phoenix has more wins in January (six) than Minnesota has all season (five). ... D'Antoni put Nash back in the game briefly with 8:17 to play and Phoenix leading 102-82. ... Rookie D.J. Strawberry came off the bench in Phoenix's regular first-half rotation ahead of Marcus Banks, who didn't play until the final minutes.

(This version CORRECTS Suns 115, Timberwolves 95. corrects scoreline, lede to 115-95 to reflect official scoring error.)