Steve Nash's back kept him on the sidelines. Amare Stoudemire's mouth put him in the locker room for the night before halftime.
But with the two longtime Suns stars out of action, two 36-year-old veterans stepped up and made sure a short-handed night in Memphis wasn't a total disaster. Showing plenty of gas in the tank on back-to-back nights for the first time this season, Shaquille O'Neal ruled the inside against the soft Grizzlies with 24 points and 13 rebounds, passing Oscar Robertson for eighth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list in the process. Meanwhile, Grant Hill got the job done on both ends of the floor, collecting 15 points and holding Rudy Gay to 14 as the Suns' graybeards led the way to the win.
It was a disappointing performance by Stoudemire, who says he wants to be the "go-to" guy and the man the Suns can rely on. But after playing only 23 foul-plagued minutes in Oklahoma City on Monday Stoudemire -- knowing his team needed him with Nash sitting out due to back spasms -- picked up three quick fouls before jawing with referee Bill Kennedy and earning an ejection late in the first half.
Once again, technical fouls are becoming a problem for Stoudemire, he now has nine for the season -- the fourth-most in the league -- and has been ejected twice (Nov. 30 versus New Jersey). Just 30 games into the season, he's halfway toward earning an automatic one-game suspension (16 technical fouls) and his demonstrative on-court reactions are easy calls for the referees. This is reminiscent of 2006-07, when Stoudemire was tied for third in the league with 14 technical fouls and flirted with a suspension.
Stoudemire is now a seven-year veteran, and maturity -- whether it is his antics on the floor or his lack of commitment to defense -- remains the biggest roadblock to his success.
SUNS 101, GRIZZLIES 89: Leandro Barbosa pumped in 28 points from the outside while Shaquille O'Neal pounded down 24 points inside as the Suns hung around for three quarters and outscored Memphis 25-5 down the stretch to beat the Grizzlies for the 10th straight time.
Grant Hill had a brilliant all-around game as well, producing 15 points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists in 39 minutes -- while holding Memphis' leading scorer, Rudy Gay, to 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting. The Suns won despite playing without Steve Nash (back spasms) and all but eight minutes without Amare Stoudemire (ejected with two technical fouls).
The Suns get credit for some good defense, but Memphis was just horrible in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies Memphis missed 25 of 28 shots in the quarter, including their last seven as the Suns went from down 84-76 to cruising to an 11-point win.
