Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash, left, questions referee Dan Crawford, right, about a foul he called against Nash while playing the Houston Rockets in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 11, 2010, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

BOB BAUM,AP Sports Writer.

PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns were 3½ minutes away from what would have been a brutal loss. Then, as has happened so often, the 3-pointers started falling.

Amare Stoudemire had 35 points and 13 rebounds and the Suns made four 3s in a row to pull away for a 116-106 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Against the Suns, Rockets coach Rick Adelman said, “You’re rolling the dice.”

“If you try to take away the 3s, then you’ve got Stoudemire rolling down the middle and we don’t have anybody to stop him,” he said. “And they didn’t make them until the last 3 minutes.”

Channing Frye made two of the 3s and Steve Nash and Jason Richardson had one apiece in a 14-0 run after the Rockets took a 102-100 lead with 3:23 left.

“They had a hard time on the screen and roll,” Stoudemire said. “When I rolled to the basket, they were sucking in and Steve was doing a great job of finding open guys.”

The victory moved Phoenix into a tie with Utah and Denver for the third playoff spot in the West, a half-game behind No. 2 Dallas, with two to play. The Suns’ final two games are at home against Denver on Tuesday and at Utah on Wednesday.

Nash had 23 points and 11 assists for the Suns, winners of 12 of their last 14.

Luis Scola scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half for the Rockets, who rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit. Aaron Brooks added 22 points, including 6 of 9 3-pointers, and Chase Budinger had 19 for Houston.

“You can just look look at the West and see — that team is a quality team and they’re not going to make the playoffs,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said about the Rockets. “They’re a real quality team. They’re hard to play. Every game we’ve played them this year it’s been like a roller coaster.”

And the Suns won all four.

Nash limped off after taking a shot to the leg with 23 seconds to go, drawing a technical foul as he left the court. He said he was not hurt.

“It’s not even worth talking about,” he said.

The Rockets led 102-100 after Scola’s two free throws. Scola drew a foul for bumping Nash during Phoenix’s trademark pick-and-roll play on the next possession. The Suns took the ball out of bounds, Scola backed off a bit, and Nash made the 3, his third in three tries, to put Phoenix ahead for good.

Frye followed with a 3-pointer, Richardson got one, then Frye another and it was over.

“They’re a smart team,” the Rockets’ Trevor Ariza said. “They know what to do and they know when to do it.”

The Suns led 62-57 at the break and 81-67 after Jarron Collins’ inside basket with 4:56 to play in the third quarter. Scola, though, scored eight in a 13-1 surge to cut the lead to 82-80 with 1:18 to go in the quarter. Frye made his first shot of the night and Nash sank a 3-pointer to boost the lead to 87-80. But Scola responded with a driving bank shot, Budinger intercepted Nash’s cross-court pass and made a 3-pointer and it was 87-85 entering the fourth.

Jordan Hill scored to start the final period to tie it at 87-87. Brooks’ fifth 3-pointer, the first one he had tried since the opening quarter, put Houston ahead 92-91 with 8:44 to go. the Rockets’ first lead since midway through the second quarter.

There were three ties and four lead changes after that before the Suns went ahead for good.

Stoudemire set the tone for the late surge when he made a leaping save of a ball headed out of bounds, then got the ball back for a dunk to tie it at 100-100.

“Amare had a monster game,” Gentry said, “but it’s nothing he hasn’t been doing the last two months really.”

Brooks made his first 4 3-pointers in the first quarter. While he was 6 of 9 on 3s but only 1 of 9 on 2-pointers.

NOTES: Houston had won three in a row and four of five. … The game featured three former University ofArizona standouts — Frye for the Suns, rookies Budinger and Hill for the Rockets. A fourth, Suns general manager Steve Kerr, watched from the stands. … Injured Suns C Robin Lopez (bulging disk) is to be re-evaluated by a specialist on Monday. … Phoenix won its seventh straight home game. … Houston’s Kevin Martin played only 6 minutes in the third quarter and none in the fourth because of illness, Adelman said.

Phoenix Suns Amar'e Stoudemire, right, dunks on Minnesota Timberwolves Ryan Hollins in the first quarter during their NBA basketball game Sunday March 28, 2010.(AP Photo/Andy King)

DAVE CAMPBELL,AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Steve Nash’s back was bothering him, so much so that the Phoenix Suns almost had to play without their slick-passing, floppy-haired front man.

With those prime Western Conference playoff seeds still in reach, Nash wasn’t going to give in and take a game off — even against the tumbling Minnesota Timberwolves.

Amare Stoudemire had 30 points and 17 rebounds, helping Nash and the Suns hold off Minnesota for a 111-105 victory on Sunday night that matched a franchise record for the Timberwolves with their 16th loss in a row.

“This was an important game. If you lose this game, it could be disastrous. So I just wanted to try and be there for the team,” said Nash, who had 14 points and 11 assists while guiding the Suns to their season-high seventh straight win.

Kevin Love had 23 points and a career-high 22 rebounds and Al Jefferson put up 19 points and 16 rebounds, leading the Timberwolves (14-60) on a startling second-half comeback from a 25-point deficit in the second quarter.

But when Nash and Stoudemire left the bench with 7½ minutes remaining and their team leading by five, the Suns refocused and dodged an embarrassing defeat to a team they scored 152 points against just 12 days ago. Stoudemire had 10 straight points for Phoenix to stretch the lead to 108-99 on a short jumper with 44 seconds remaining.

“We can’t afford to really shut down at all, because no matter what the record is every team can beat you,” Stoudemire said. “We have to keep that in mind and really keep that focus and determination for the full 48 minutes.”

Nash was working out earlier in the day when he began to experience back spasms. Coach Alvin Gentry said before the game he wouldn’t play Nash unless he was 100 percent healthy, but Nash got his back to feel good enough to move around.

“It was tough. I didn’t know what I would be able to provide,” Nash said. “I thought I’d just give the best I could and just try to see how it goes.”

The Suns have won 21 of their last 26 games. That includes a 152-114 beating of Minnesota earlier this month, the most points ever allowed by the Wolves in their 21-year existence and the highest score in the NBA this season.

The Wolves, who also lost 16 in a row in both 1994 and 1992 and had a 15-game skid end in November, showed more fight than they have in a long time and came within one point in the fourth quarter. They also held the Suns under 120 points for the first time in four losses this season.

Still, that didn’t make them feel good.

“It wears on you,” said Ramon Sessions, whose layup off a backdoor give-and-go pass from Love brought the Wolves within 93-90 right after Nash and Stoudemire re-entered the game.

Wolves coach Kurt Rambis lamented that his team was lured into playing the Suns’ fast pace, and out of their element, in the last meeting. This time, midway through the third quarter, it was almost as if Minnesota’s overall lethargy lured Phoenix into a lapse.

The Wolves quietly whittled the lead from 20-plus toward 10 and then came within 81-75 on Wayne Ellington’s double-pump, throw-it-up-and-hope layup and three-point play when Stoudemire fouled him hard.

Ellington’s jumper cut the lead to 89-88, but the Wolves just couldn’t break that barrier during a season that’s been burdened by all kinds of them.

The impressive comeback won’t buy this team any confidence.

“You definitely need a win,” Rambis said. “Everybody’s frustrated. I’m frustrated. The coaches are. The players are. The front office is. The fans are.”

Rambis was again trying to figure out how such an inspired third quarter could be preceded by such a lifeless second quarter.

“They have to play that style of scrappy ball,” he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to be able to stay in ballgames.”

The Wolves host Sacramento on Wednesday.

“It’s tough man,” Ellington said, groaning when asked if the players are bothered by the dubious streak. “Everybody in here likes to win, too.”

Channing Frye had 14 of his 17 points in the first half, and Leandro Barbosa added 16 points for the Suns, who are averaging more than 120 points during this Stoudemire-fueled streak. His scoring average this season has increased with each month, and he’s putting up more than 28 points per game in March.

“We got lucky, and Amare rescued us,” Gentry said: “I just think he’s been really focused.”

NOTES: Nash and Rambis are two of Santa Clara’s most famous alums. … Frye saw more time with C Robin Lopez out for at least two weeks with a back injury.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

Phoenix Suns' Jason Richardson (23) dunks over Sacramento Kings' Tyreke Evans, middle, and Jason Thompson in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

PHOENIX (AP) — Are the Phoenix Suns, the NBA’s highest-scoring team, suddenly becoming a tough defensive team?

If the last two games are any indication, they are headed in the right direction.

Jason Richardson scored 26 points, Amare Stoudemire had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 17 assists, leading the Suns to a 104-88 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

The win was the Suns’ eighth in 10 games and gave them a four-game season sweep of the Kings.

It was the second consecutive game the Suns held an opponent under 90 points, a rarity for a team known for its offense but notorious for its poor defense.

On Friday night, the Suns limited Atlanta to 30 points in the second half. Against the Kings, they allowed only 34 points after intermission, including only 15 in the third quarter, a season low for a Suns opponent.

“Defense and rebounding, that’s what we did in the beginning of the season.” Richardson said. “We got away from that for a while. But now guys are taking it upon themselves to do what we were doing in the beginning of the season. I think when we defend like that we are tough to stop.”

The Suns also outrebounded the Kings 49-38, including grabbing 20 offensive boards.

Stoudemire admits that he now is finally starting to grasp the finer points of defense.

“In college is where you learn the fundamentals of defense but I didn’t go to college,” he said. “When I played with Team USA, defense was important. Now, I’m starting to enjoy it.”

Coach Alvin Gentry was especially pleased with the Suns defense.

“I thought we did a great job,” Gentry said. “I thought Steve did a good job on Tyreke Evans. We probably did the best job we’ve ever done as far as dribble penetration. I thought our defense was the difference.”

Newly acquired Carl Landry led Sacramento with 18 points. Beno Udrih had 17 and Donte Greene and rookie Tyreke Evans each scored 16 for the Kings.

The Kings began the season 9-8, but since then they are 9-30. They are 5-25 on the road and have lost nine straight in Phoenix.

Grant Hill added 16 points and Nash scored 11 for the Suns, who are 13-0 when holding an opponent under 100 points.

The Suns (34-23) are 11 games over .500 for the first time since opening the season 14-3.

Despite playing the second night of a back-to-back, the Kings were sharp at the outset. They moved the ball crisply, hit 56.1 percent of their field goal attempts and racked up a Suns-like 16 fast-break points.

“We weren’t good enough to play 48 minutes of the kind of basketball you need to beat Phoenix in Phoenix,” Sacramento coach Paul Westphal said. “We couldn’t keep them off the offensive boards which hasn’t been a problem for us all year but has been the last two games.”

Evans admired the work of Stoudemire on the boards.

“He’s a beast,” Evans said. “He was coming in there, jumping over everybody, snatching the rebounds and putting them back up. That’s what hurt us. We’ve got to do a better job of holding them to one shot, like they did to us.”

Greene, who burned the Suns for a career-high 31 points on Feb. 5 but failed to score Saturday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, led the balanced Kings offense with 11 points at halftime.

The Kings led by 10 points midway through the second period and 54-51 at halftime.

Richardson scored 19 points in the first half and Nash, playing despite a troublesome abdominal strain, already had 10 assists at the break.

The Kings began to wear down in the third quarter and the Suns capitalized. Phoenix held Sacramento to 15 points in the period, when the Kings made only five of 15 shots, and the Suns surged ahead 75-69. Stoudemire was the spark, scoring seven points and grabbing nine rebounds.

The Suns took control by opening the fourth quarter with seven straight points, five by Channing Frye, and the Kings never seriously threatened again.

NOTES: Evans is trying to become the fourth player in NBA history to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in his rookie season. Before Sunday’s game, he was averaging 20.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists. The only players who have accomplished that are Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Oscar Robertson. … Stoudemire’s 19 points ended his streak of at least 20 points in nine straight games.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

The “shamble” tournament features teams of four that will all start at different holes throughout the course but tee off at the same time.  Money raised from the event will benefit NAU athletic scholarships.

Tickets are $125 dollars per person, but $75 tickets are available for participants who are members of the Oak Creek Country Club.  Golfers will also have the opportunity to attend the final home season game for the NAU men’s basketball team against Eastern Washington at the Walkup Skydome on Saturday night.

Tee time is set for 11 o’clock Saturday morning.  The price for tickets to participate in the event also include, green fees, cart and range balls, box lunch, and tee prizes.

For further information on the event visit NAU Athletics, or call Ashley Hammarstrom at 928-523-3389

Idaho State's Broderick Gilchrest (2) drives in for a layup past Northern Arizona defenders DeAngelo Jones (2), left, Gabe Rogers (11), and Shane Johannsen (40) during the second half of the game at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho on Saturday, February 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Idaho State Journal, Joe Kline)

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Broderick Gilchrest scored 21 points as Idaho State beat Northern Arizona in overtime 73-71, in Big Sky Conference play on Saturday night.

In regulation, the Lumberjacks (7-18, 4-9) tied the game 64-64 on a layup by DeAngelo Jones off an inbound play with eight-tenths of a second remaining. The Lumberjacks rallied from six points down 58-seconds left in the game to force overtime.

The Lumberjack’s trailed 72-69 with four-seconds remaining in overtime. DeAngelo Jones was fouled on a three-point attempt, but was only able to convert on two free throws.

Gilchrest was fouled and hit 1 of 2 free throws to put his team up by two with two-seconds left. DeAngelo Jones tried a desperation shot at the buzzer that would not have counted but missed anyway.

Cameron Jones led the Lumberjacks with 22 points, and Shane Johannsen had 18.

Amorrow Morgan had 15 points Demetrius Monroe added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Bengals.

Trailing by 11 points at the half, the Lumberjacks started the second half with a 15-5 run to cut Idaho States lead to, 39-38, with 12:32 remaining. The Bengals responded with a 9-0 run of their own to go up 48-38 with 8:34 left, before NAU rallied again

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

Beitzel hit two 3-pointers in overtime. Will Figures added 21 points for the Bears (19-5, 8-3 Big Sky), winners of three of their last four.

Mike Proctor had 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds as the Bears reached 19 wins for the first time since 1989.

Cameron Jones led the Lumberjacks (11-11, 5-6) with 17 points. He had his string of 20-point games snapped at five.

DeAngelo Jones had 16 points and Shane Johannsen 13 for Northern Arizona, whose three-game road winning streak ended.

Johannsen’s rebound basket gave Northern Arizona its only lead in overtime at 58-56. Then Beitzel sank consecutive 3-pointers, the second with 2:15 left, to pull the Bears ahead 62-58.

Northern Colorado scored the next four points before Cameron Jones’ layup for Northern Arizona made it 66-60 with 36 seconds remaining.

Neal Kingman’s 3-pointer began 9-0 run at the start of the second half as the Bears opened a 34-26 lead. After Beitzel extended it to 41-30 with a 3-pointer, Northern Arizona rallied for 13 unanswered points. Cameron Jones put the Lumberjacks ahead 43-41 with a basket and free throw with 9:42 left.

Beitzel put Northern Colorado ahead 55-52 with a shot in the lane with 3:22 to go, but Cameron Jones pushed Northern Arizona up 56-55 on a basket with 38 seconds left. Proctor sent the game into overtime with one free throw with 22 seconds remaining. Gabe Rogers missed a 15-footer at the buzzer for the Lumberjacks.

DeAngelo Jones had eight points in the first half and Northern Arizona took a 26-25 lead into halftime. The Lumberjacks held Beitzel to three points on 1-for-5 shooting.

Montana State forward Danny Piepoli, center, tries to keep the ball away from Northern Arizona guard Julian Olubuyi, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Walkup Skydome on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, in Flagstaff, Ariz. Montana State forward Branden Johnson, left, watches the play. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Sun, Rick Wacha)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Anthony Johnson scored 28 points and Montana beat Northern Arizona 84-64 in Big Sky Conference play on Saturday night.

Johnson scored 25 of his 28 points in the second half and scored 13 straight points at one point in the second frame to spark a 21-3 run by the Grizzlies that broke the game open.

Johnson hit a jumper at the 12:31 mark to tie the game at 45-45 before the Grizzlies (15-7, 6-4) started pulling away.

Montana shot 19 of 25 in the second half (76.0 percent) and scored 55 points in the half.

The Lumberjacks (11-10, 5-5) took a 30-29 lead into the locker room at halftime before being outscored by 21 in the second.

Will Cherry added 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the win. Cherry did most of his damage in the second as well, scoring 15.

Northern Arizona was paced by Cameron Jones, who had 22 points. DeAngelo Jones chipped in with 14.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Lumberjacks. The grizzlies have now won 5 of 6.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

Phoenix Suns center Robin Lopez (15) scores over Houston Rockets' Shane Battier (31) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, in Houston. (AP Photo/Steve Campbell)

HOUSTON (AP) — The Phoenix Suns finally figured out how to win the kind of road game they’ve been losing lately.

Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 36 points, Steve Nash handed out 16 assists and the Suns snapped a five-game road losing streak with a 115-111 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Nash scored 11 points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds, and Grant Hill added 19 points for the Suns, who got their first road win since a 113-109 victory in Sacramento on Jan. 5. Their last road win before that came on Nov. 29 in Toronto.

“A lot of things didn’t go our way, and we found a way to hang around and get it done,” Nash said. “On the road, the way we’ve lost a lot of games like that this year, to have the toughness to continue and find different ways to win the game was exciting.”

Aaron Brooks scored 24 points after shooting poorly in the first half and Trevor Ariza had 21 for the Rockets, who’ve lost five of their last eight games.

The Rockets shot 38 percent (40 of 106), but overcame poor shooting with stingy defense in the second half to make it close at the end.

Brooks hit a pull-up jumper with 1:18 left in regulation to cut the Suns’ lead to 97-96. Nash was called for a technical foul, claiming Brooks pushed off before the shot. Brooks sank the resulting free throw to tie it, but Nash sank a 3-pointer with 1:08 to go for a 100-97 Suns’ lead.

Ariza tied it with a 3-pointer from the corner with 11.3 seconds remaining. Nash fell as he threw up a last-second shot that came up short at the buzzer.

The Suns led by 18 early, and had blown leads of 15 points or more five times this season. But Nash remained confident in this one, even after the game went to an extra period.

“I still felt like we could find a way to win,” Nash said. “We had a good energy about us and we were tough enough tonight to dig through it.”

Stoudemire fouled out with 3:08 left in the overtime and the scored tied at 104. Jason Richardson finished a fast break with a layup, then scored again off a set play as the Suns took a 111-107 lead.

Brooks hit a free throw and Luis Scola scored in the lane to pull Houston within one. Jared Dudley sank two free throws with 5.3 seconds left, and the Suns fouled Brooks before he could shoot a tying 3.

Brooks made the first free throw, then was called for a lane violation when he threw the ball off the rim and tried to get his own rebound. Nash hit two free throws with 3.6 seconds left to clinch the victory.

“Everybody, from the second unit on down, showed great tenacity,” Stoudemire said. “We had to scrap for it, but we had enough professionalism to pull it out in the end.”

The Rockets missed 14 of their first 16 shots and quickly trailed by 13. Chase Budinger’s driving layup with 4:24 left in the first quarter snapped Houston’s 6-minute scoring drought, but Richardson immediately dunked an alley-oop pass from Hill for a 21-8 lead.

Phoenix stretched the lead to 56-38 in the second quarter, as Houston’s starters continued to misfire. Brooks, coming off a 33-point game against Portland on Friday, went 1 for 7 from the field in the first half. Scola and Shane Battier both went 2 for 7.

“We shot the ball terrible in the first half,” Brooks said. “We shot the ball terrible pretty much the whole game, but our defense is what allowed us to stay in the game.”

Phoenix led 60-48 at the break, and Stoudemire swished three jumpers from the top of the key early in the third quarter. From there, the Rockets tightened their defense and mounted a 16-2 run. Brooks sank back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 68-67, and Scola tipped in Ariza’s miss to put the Rockets up by one.

Nash delivered five assists in the final three minutes of the third quarter, and Phoenix took a 79-73 lead to the fourth.

NOTES: Stoudemire has 16 double-doubles this season. … G Will Conroy, recalled from the Rockets’ developmental league affiliate on Thursday, made his Houston debut in the first quarter. Conroy replaced regular backup point guard Kyle Lowry, who’s out at least a week with a sprained left knee. … The Rockets went 11 for 34 from 3-point range, a season high for attempts.

CHRIS DUNCAN,AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

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NAU senior Sade Cunningham scored a layup to tie the game at 60 with five seconds remaining in regulation.  But Wildcat’s Tonya Schnibbe dribbled down court, saw Thorderson on the baseline behind the arc where she nailed the shot as time expired.

Cunningham kept the Jacks in the game scoring 24 points, including six assists and eight rebounds.  Forward Lauren Hosington scored eight points of her own including three assists.

Thorderson ended the night with 12 points and Schnibbe had ten points and seven assists for Weber State.

The Lumberjacks are 5-9 in Big Sky Conference Play this season, and the final two games are against conference opponents.

Next up for NAU is Idaho State.  That game will also be in the Rolle Activity Center; tipoff is at 6:35 p.m.