Nash’s 20 assists leads surging Suns

The assists piled up, and Steve Nash lost track.

“I knew I had a bunch,” he said.

Nash finished with an NBA season-high 20 assists and the Phoenix Suns beat the visiting Sacramento Kings, 127-102, Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory.

Leandro Barbosa had 26 points and Nash came within two assists of a career high, set in January. Nash’s teammates helped by shooting 49.5%.

“We were playing Suns basketball and Steve was making some great passes,” said Shawn Marion, who made his first seven shots and had 23 points.

After opening the season 1-5, the Suns have won nine of 10 games and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Lakers in the Pacific Division.

Nash also scored 11 points, making three of his four three-point shots.

Mike Bibby scored 21 points for the Kings, who have lost four straight games, their longest skid since acquiring Ron Artest from Indiana on Jan. 26, 2006. Artest (sore back) did not play.

Portland 88, Detroit 85 -- Zach Randolph had 31 points and 13 rebounds and his short jumper with 21.6 seconds left put the visiting Trail Blazers ahead for good, ending a five-game losing streak.

Richard Hamilton had 25 for Detroit, which lost its second in a row after an eight-game winning streak.

Dallas 92, New Jersey 75 -- After having their 12-game winning streak ended Monday at Washington, the Mavericks never trailed and pulled away with a 13-4 fourth-quarter run at East Rutherford, N.J.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and Josh Howard had 23, with the duo scoring all of the points in the pivotal surge. Vince Carter scored 20 points for New Jersey.

Houston 118, Golden State 90 -- The Rockets led by 15 points after the first quarter and 21 at halftime at Houston en route to winning for the sixth time in their last seven games.

Coming off a concussion on Saturday, Tracy McGrady had 31 points and seven assists and Yao Ming had 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting for Houston. Monta Ellis scored 19 for Golden State.

Seattle 102, Atlanta 87 -- Playing without leading scorer Ray Allen (foot), the SuperSonics won consecutive home games for the first time this season behind Rashard Lewis’ 29 points. Joe Johnson scored 34 for the Hawks.

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Commissioner David Stern acknowledged that the NBA should have sought more input from players before introducing its new game ball and said he will address the players’ criticisms with Spalding, the manufacturer.... NBA officials are not considering a sale of the Memphis Grizzlies, because the proposed buyers, led by former player Brian Davis, have not provided enough information on where the money would come from.