Suns are winning without Stoudemire

The red-hot Suns go for their ninth win in a row on Friday, as they welcome the New York Knicks to America West Arena. This is the first meeting between the clubs since they made a major trade during the offseason. The Knicks traded forward Kurt Thomas and the draft rights to Dijon Thompson to Phoenix for Quentin Richardson, the draft rights to Nate Robinson and cash considerations.

New York is scheduled to host the Suns on January 2, 2006 at Madison Square Garden in the final contest of the season of the 2005-06 campaign between the squads.

The Suns have won three in a row against the Knicks, while these two teams have split the last 10 contests. New York has dropped two straight and three of its last four at Phoenix.

Reigning MVP Steve Nash scored 28 points and dished out 14 assists to pace the Suns to their eighth consecutive win, 118-110, over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday at The Arena in Oakland. Shawn Marion finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds, while Thomas totaled 16 points and 17 boards for Phoenix, which used a big run in the closing minutes to win at The Arena in Oakland for the 12th time in the last 18 meetings.

Raja Bell added 19 points before fouling out in the win over Golden State for the Suns. Bell was 5-of-9 from three-point range, while Marion was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Phoenix, which will visit the surprising Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday at the Staples Center, is 8-4 as the host this season. The Suns have won seven in a row in front of their home crowd.

Nash is averaging 18.6 points and a team-best 10.7 assists for the Suns. He has scored in double-digits in 16 of Phoenix’ first 17 games and has dished out 10 more assists in 11 contests.

The Suns have scored at least 100 points in five straight and six of their last seven contests. They have reached the century mark in 13 games and have allowed over 100 points six times.