ROTATION: Starters -- Point guard Leandro Barbosa, Shooting guard Jason Richardson, Small forward Matt Barnes, Power forward Grant Hill, Center Shaquille O'Neal. Bench -- Forward Louis Amundson, Forward Jared Dudley, Guard Goran Dragic, Center Robin Lopez.
PLAYER NOTES: --C Shaquille O'Neal backed up his season-high 45-point effort against Toronto with 33 points against the Lakers. That made him the fourth player over the age of 35 in NBA history to score at least 33 points in consecutive games and first since Michael Jordan turned the trick (Karl Malone and Alex English are the others). The 33 points is the most Shaq has scored the Lakers since leaving the club prior to the 2004-05 season. The last time he had back-to-back 30-point games was Mar. 5-7 2004 when he was still with the Lakers.
--G Leandro Barbosa recorded his 14th 20-point game this season and his third since the All-Star break with 22 points to go with seven assists. Barbosa is averaging 21.2 points since returning to the starting lineup and that's good news for the Suns, who are 10-4 when he scores 20 points or more in a game.
--F Matt Barnes' two best games as a Sun have come against the Lakers, but this was his best. He finished with 26 points, his most with Phoenix, along with a team-high 10 rebounds and seven assists with Steve Nash sitting out for a third straight game. Barnes also had seven straight points -- four free throws and a three-pointer that gave the Suns some breathing room when the Lakers were charging. This was the second 25-point, 10 assist game of his career, the other came Dec.10 against the Lakers at Los Angeles when he had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a losing effort.
--G Steve Nash sat out his third straight game with a sprained ankle suffered Tuesday in a win over Charlotte. He tried the ankle in pregame warm-ups but said it is still sore and cutting is a problem. He is hoping to play Tuesday when the Suns open a three-game road trip at Orlando, but the Suns winning Sunday was a double bonus because Nash was able to rest. The Suns need to get him back as quickly as possible however -- the five starters played all but 46 minutes of Sunday's game.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--F Amare Stoudemire (detached retina) is out for the rest of the regular season, and probably longer.
--G Steve Nash sprained his right ankle in Tuesday's win over Charlotte and missed his third straight game Sunday.
