Suns Set Upstart Clippers Straight

Just in case the Clippers still had any big ideas, the Phoenix Suns reminded them who runs things in the Pacific Division, routing their closest pursuer, 126-95, Wednesday night at US Airways Center.

The Suns overwhelmed the second-place Clippers from the outset, shredding their ineffective defense throughout while leading by as many as 31 points.

Point guard Steve Nash again befuddled the Clippers in a 25-point, 12-assist performance, directing the fast-paced show.

The Suns made an opponent-record 16 three-point baskets against the Clippers, shot 55.6% from the field and 51.6% on three-pointers, and had seven players in double figures. The Suns, playing their second game on consecutive nights, ended the Clippers’ winning streak at four games, and sent a message to the upstart visitors.

Phoenix plans to retain its division title, and the improved Clippers are still playing catch-up in this neighborhood.

“The good news is that now we know. We know where we stand again, and we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said.

Beforehand, the Clippers thought they stood closer to the Suns, who have a 7 1/2 -game lead in their bid to win consecutive division titles for the first time.

The Clipper outlook quickly changed as the Suns scored the game’s first 10 points and sprinted to a 29-8 lead in the first quarter behind Nash, who found teammates for uncontested jump shots and layups in a series of runs that prompted standing ovations from the crowd.

And when the Clippers cut the deficit to 45-37 on Vladimir Radmanovic’s three-pointer with 7 minutes 28 seconds remaining in the first half, the Suns simply floored the accelerator again.

Phoenix had a 19-point lead (73-54) at halftime, and the Clippers had given up their most first-half points this season.

“They just picked us apart defensively,” said Elton Brand, who had 18 points. “I was definitely surprised, because I thought we would have more fight, more attention to detail, play harder, defend better and be up more for this game.

“After winning four in a row, I don’t think we were sitting around like fat cats, but we might have been feeling good about ourselves. We should have come out with a little more fight.

“The looks they were getting were wide open. They’re getting layups and points in the paint. We’ve got to get our act together.”

The Clippers didn’t fare as well on offense, making 34.3% of their field-goal attempts. They missed 14 of their 19 three-point shots.

“Obviously, we didn’t play the way we were supposed to play,” said Chris Kaman, who had a game-high 16 rebounds, but missed many shots inside and scored only eight points.

“We came out real flat and they got up on us quick. We got it to eight, but then we fell back again, and it’s just hard to come back from that.

“Over the last five games we won four, which is decent, but this is a game we wanted to win. We could play these guys in the playoffs, potentially, and we just couldn’t beat them. We were pathetic out there. We just played terrible.”

The Suns all but secured the victory with a 13-0 run early in the third quarter, boosting their lead to 86-57 at the 8:29 mark.

“We just had a great game,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Steve Nash really started it off well ... and when you combine our offense and the defense we had tonight, which was superb, things are going to go well.”