Suns down Nuggets after trailing by 22

PHOENIX -- Amare Stoudemire scored 41 points and Steve Nash had 36, and the Phoenix Suns rallied from a 22-point second-quarter deficit to overcome the Denver Nuggets, 132-117, Monday night for their 50th victory of the season.

In reaching at least 50 wins for the fourth straight season, the Suns tied the idle Lakers for first place in the Pacific Division, though the Lakers hold the tiebreaker.

The comeback matched the third-best in Suns history. They also rallied from a 22-point second-period deficit against the Boston Celtics in 1994.

Stoudemire had 16 points in the fourth quarter when the Suns outscored Denver, 46-25.

Stoudemire also had 14 rebounds, while Shaquille O’Neal had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Raja Bell had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

J.R. Smith led the Nuggets with 23 points.

The Nuggets beat the Suns at their own game in the first half, outrunning, outgunning, outhustling and outshooting Phoenix in building a 70-51 lead. Denver got much of it on a 16-0 run spanning the first and second quarters.

The Nuggets made 60.4% of their shots (32 of 53) in the half. The Suns also attempted 53 shots, but made only 17 (32.1%).

As the Suns trudged off at halftime, they were roundly booed by the sellout crowd.

The boos turned to cheers in the third period, which the Suns ended trailing, 92-86. The cheers reached fever pitch in the fourth quarter, especially when the Suns took their first lead, 110-108, since midway in the opening period on a three-point basket by Nash with 6:18 left. The Suns then left no doubt with a game-ending 22-9 run.

Phoenix made 71% of its shots (27 of 38) in the second half to the Nuggets’ 42.1% (16 of 38).

Around the league

Orlando Magic forward Brian Cook could miss up to two weeks after breaking his right middle finger in practice. . . . Commissioner David Stern seems prepared to change the trade rule that lets teams use semi-retired players to complete deals, such as the Lakers using Aaron McKie to acquire Pau Gasol and the Dallas Mavericks using Keith Van Horn to acquire Jason Kidd. “I think it needs to be tweaked,” Stern told the Houston Chronicle. “I think a weakness in the system has been exposed.”