Suns One Game From Home-Court Clinch

PHOENIX – Amare Stoudemire scored 22 of his 38 points in a spectacular third quarter and the Phoenix Suns moved within a game of clinching home court advantage throughout the playoffs with a 116-98 victory over Sacramento on Saturday night.

Stoudemire, combining thunderous, acrobatic dunks with outside jumpers, made nine of 10 shots in the third, when the Suns opened a 27-point lead en route to their fourth win in a row. His only miss in the quarter was a 3-point try at the buzzer.

Joe Johnson scored 22 points and Shawn Marion and Leandro Barbosa added 17 apiece in the Suns’ 61st victory of the season, one shy of the franchise record. Phoenix leads San Antonio by two games for the NBA’s best record with two to play. One Suns’ victory or Spurs’ loss will ensure Phoenix the best record in the league.

Stoudemire, Marion and Steve Nash sat out the fourth quarter after the Suns took a 99-73 lead after three.

Sacramento, which entered the game with a four-game winning streak, was without Peja Stojakovic, who left Friday night’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers with a strained left groin. The Kings fell into a tie with Houston for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference, one game ahead of Denver.

Eddie House led Sacramento with 17 points, Mike Bibby added 16, and Darius Songala had 11.

Quentin Richardson was back for the Suns after missing two games with a sprained left ankle. After missing 13 shots in a row, dating to before he was injured, he hit a 3-pointer that put Phoenix up 54-47 with 3:32 in the first half. Marion scored four points in the final 30 seconds of the half to make it 62-52 at the break.

After a few sputtering, if victorious performances, the Suns turned it into high gear in a third-quarter rush that buried the Kings in an avalanche of fast-break dunks and outside shots. Stoudemire scored the final nine points in a 25-6 outburst, with the last basket one of the highlights of Phoenix’s remarkable turnaround season.

On a fast break, Johnson brought the ball downcourt and passed it beneath the basket to Nash. Nash barely touched it on a tip pass high above the rim to Stoudemire, who caught it and slammed it home one-handed to make it 89-63. Stoudemire’s 19-footer boosted it to 94-67 and his 16-footer put Phoenix up 96-69.

If the Suns win their final two games, they will break the franchise mark for best record of 62-20, set by the 1992-93 team that made it to the NBA Finals. Saturday’s victory tied Phoenix with the 1979-80 Boston Celtics for the third-largest turnaround in league history at 32 games. The Suns’ 29-53 record last season was the third-worst in franchise history.

Notes:@ Kings coach Rick Adelman and Suns coach Mike D’Antoni were roommates as players with the Kansas City Kings. … The teams meet again in their regular-season finale Wednesday night. … Adelman said Stojakovic won’t play the remaining two games of the regular season. … Sacramento needs to win one of its next two to top 50 victories for the fifth consecutive 50-win season. … Former POW Jessica Lynch was in the crowd and got a standing ovation when introduced.