Sunday's contest also kicks off a brutal stretch of games against elite opponents. The Suns head to Dallas on Tuesday before coming home for another one-game homestand against an Orlando team that beat them handily in Florida in October. And the rest of the month doesn't get any easier, with the likes of Denver, San Antonio, Portland and Cleveland on schedule before Christmas.

The good news is the team has already given itself some cushion with a 15-5 record, and by the time Christmas rolls around, 17 of Phoenix's 41 road games will already be crossed off the list.

The Suns starters had to play a lot of minutes Saturday. The game was tight, and with two key reserves -- Leandro Barbosa (ankle) and Louis Amundson (flu) -- out of action, coach Alvin Gentry has shortened the bench and put more onus on the starters to come through.

But the Lakers are both rested and deep. They are in the middle of a five-game homestand and are 15-3 with an eight-game winning streak going. And their inside size is of particular concern to the Suns, who have no answers for Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the paint.

SUNS 115, KINGS 107: Steve Nash scored 32 points and Amare Stoudemire added 16 points and 21 rebounds as the Suns snapped a two-game losing streak with a 33-point fourth quarter. Phoenix is still the only NBA team that is undefeated at home.

Tyreke Evans had 21 points and Andres Nocioni had 20 for the Kings, who held tough for three quarters but couldn't keep pace when the Suns started hitting 3-pointers -- they finished with 11 for the night. Jason Richardson had 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter to get the Suns off to a good start.