Big Night for Marion in 136-121 Win
Shawn Marion had 31 points and 24 rebounds, Steve Nash had 29 points and eight assists, and the Phoenix Suns rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 136-121, Saturday night in the highest-scoring regulation game in the NBA this season.
The victory was the Suns’ sixth in a row -- the longest current streak in the league -- and their ninth in 10 games, increasing their Pacific Division lead to six games over the Clippers.
Raja Bell added 27 points for the Suns, while Boris Diaw had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Leandro Barbosa scored 14.
Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 31 points, the most by an NBA rookie this season. Jumaine Jones scored 22 for the Bobcats.
The Bobcats, who were averaging only 94.8 points coming in, blitzed the Suns for a franchise-high 74 points in the first half and led by six. Four of their five starters already were in double figures, with Felton and Jones scoring 16 apiece, Matt Carroll 15 and Primoz Brezec 12.
Marion, coming off a career-high 44 points against Boston on Wednesday night, already had 20 points and 13 rebounds at the half -- assuring him of his league-leading 42nd double-double of the season.
The Suns closed the third quarter with an 18-4 run to take a 108-102 lead. Charlotte never got closer than four points in the fourth quarter.
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