SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Even when Steve Nash is woozy, nobody

seems to be able to slow down the Phoenix Suns.

Nash finished with 20 points and 14 assists just four days after

sustaining a concussion, and led the high-octane Suns to their

eighth straight win, 115-102 over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

"I kind of had two days off and I didn't feel great yesterday

in practice," said Nash, who also had three steals.

Nash said he needed a few minutes to get back into rhythm. Once

he did, the Suns took off and wore down the Jazz, outscoring Utah

33-22 in the fourth quarter.

Amare Stoudemire scored 29 points, Shawn Marion had 21 to go

with nine rebounds and blocked four shots for the Suns. Quentin

Richardson scored 18 points, and Joe Johnson added 15 as all five

Suns starters reached double figures.

The Suns had the fast break going at full speed by the end of

the game and there was no way the short-handed Jazz could keep up.

"Once you get the rebound, it's like two passes and a dunk.

Maybe one pass and a dunk," Stoudemire said. "We really came out

strong toward the end. (We) probably ran the fastest in the fourth

quarter to seal the game."

Utah was playing its first of at least five games without

All-Star forward Andrei Kirilenko, placed on the injured list

Tuesday with a sprained knee ligament.

Rookie Kris Humphries, who came off the injured list when

Kirilenko went on, had a career-high 13 points, and Carlos Boozer

scored 27 points and pulled down 18 rebounds for the Jazz.

Tuesday was the first of back-to-back games against the top two

teams in the Western Conference for Utah, which visits Seattle on

Wednesday. For 3½ quarters, it was a good start, but the Suns

pulled away down the stretch.

"It doesn't give you much of a chance to win, especially when

you give up as many points as we did in the paint," Jazz coach

Jerry Sloan said. "They shot a terrific percentage because they

got what they wanted almost every time."

It was Nash's first game since getting a concussion Friday in a

win over New Orleans, and he didn't show any effects, leading the

highest-scoring team in the league to another victory.

Nash didn't score in the final quarter, but had four assists to

help the Suns seal it.

"We didn't get many bounces tonight, but I thought in the

fourth quarter we scrapped," Nash said. "Deflections and steals

and blocked shots, that was a big part of the win for us."

Phoenix forced 18 turnovers while losing the ball just seven

times.

Humphries kept Utah close in the third quarter with a turnaround

jumper just before the shot clock expired, then drove for a

two-handed dunk through traffic to get Utah to 90-88. But the Suns

were able to keep up the frantic pace and the Jazz weren't.

After Bell got Utah to 92-90, Richardson hit back-to-back

3-pointers to give the Suns an eight-point lead with less than six

minutes remaining.

Matt Harpring scored for Utah after a timeout, but Johnson hit a

3-pointer and Nash stole a pass at the other end and found

Stoudemire for a two-handed dunk that shook the backboard. The Jazz

briefly cut it to single digits, but the Suns pulled away again,

sealing it on Stoudemire's reverse dunk and free throw for a

three-point play to make it 107-94.

"It was tough. I mean, every time we missed a shot, they were

out on the break," Boozer said.

Harpring started for Kirilenko and finished with 19 points and

seven rebounds. Carlos Arroyo had 10 points and five assists, and

Raja Bell scored 12 for the Jazz.Game notes
Richardson was called for a technical after arguing a foul

called on him during a layup by Arroyo. ... Utah won three of four

against Phoenix last season. ... Humphries had one career point

before Tuesday night's game and played 26 minutes.