Suns outrun Grizzlies in 137-122 victory

The Memphis Grizzlies have a long way to go before they can match the Phoenix Suns in an up-tempo game.

The Suns -- the league’s highest-scoring team -- outran the Grizzlies in the second half as Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 42 points to lead Phoenix to a 137-122 victory over Memphis on Monday night at Memphis, Tenn.

“There’s a lot that goes into it,” Suns guard Steve Nash, who had 12 points and 15 assists, said of the style. “If you want to play up-tempo and take quick shots, you’ve also got to play with a game plan. You have to have a calculated effort at running and gunning and not just heaving the ball up.”

Despite Memphis staying close through the first half, the Suns’ experience in the up-tempo style finally paid dividends as the Grizzlies tired down the stretch. It was the 10th straight win for Phoenix, which shot 56%.

“We wanted to keep running,” Stoudemire said. “Keep the tempo up. We wanted to outrun guys, and that’s what we did.”

Memphis lost its third straight and has dropped five of its last six.

New Jersey 105, Indiana 95 -- Vince Carter scored 31 points and Jason Kidd added 19 and narrowly missed his second triple-double in three games at East Rutherford, N.J.

Al Harrington led Indiana with 18.

Minnesota 94, Detroit 90 -- Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Ricky Davis scored 21 and Mark Blount made a key three-pointer to seal the win at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Detroit’s Antonio McDyess had a season-high 16 points and Carlos Delfino also provided a boost off the bench with 10 points. Flip Murray had 12 points and nine assists and Tayshaun Prince had 12 for the Pistons.

Chicago 99, San Antonio 87 -- Kirk Hinrich had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Ben Gordon scored 20 to lead the short-handed Bulls at Chicago.

The Bulls played without Chris Duhon, suspended one game for missing practice, and Ben Wallace, sidelined for the second straight game with a sore back.

Toronto 104, Philadelphia 86 -- Chris Bosh scored 27 points and Joey Graham had 18 to lead the Raptors, who used a pair of 14-0 runs at Philadelphia to make easy work of the worst team in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta 100, Boston 96 -- The Hawks recovered after blowing a 14-point lead at Atlanta, winning consecutive games for the first time since November. Josh Childress blocked a three-point attempt by Boston’s Gerald Green with 3.9 seconds remaining, and Zaza Pachulia made two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to preserve the win.

New York 102, Sacramento 97 -- Jamal Crawford, back in a reserve role, scored eight of his 10 points in the final 1:07 at New York as the Knicks handed the Kings their season-high sixth straight loss, their longest skid since dropping the final seven games of the 1997-98 season.

Milwaukee 99, Charlotte 91 -- Earl Boykins scored 30 points and Andrew Bogut added a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bucks at Charlotte, N.C.