--G Steve Nash continued to torment his former team with 27 points and had eight of them in the final minutes when he tried to will his team to a miracle finish. He hit all three of his three-pointers and had eight assists, but once again the opponent was more comfortable with Nash as a scorer than a distributor.

"Teams are switching every time, making Steve into an offensive player and keeping the rest of the guys out of sync," teammate Amar'e Stoudemire said. "That's why we're not playing fast tempo. But we'll figure it out."

--G Jason Richardson had the kind of stat line that usually results in a Suns win. Despite missing five of his six three-pointers, Richardson hit eight of 14 shots inside the arc and finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes. It was the first time this season Richardson scored 20-plus points in a Phoenix loss.

--C Channing Frye's road shooting woes continue. After going 2-for-7 from the field in Sunday's loss to the Lakers in L.A. Frye missed six of seven shots in Dallas including all four three-pointers and produced just two points in 31 minutes. It was the first time this season Frye failed to hit at least one three-pointer in a game.

MEDICAL WATCH:

--G Leandro Barbosa will miss 2-4 weeks after spraining his left ankle and isn't expected to return much before Christmas.

--F Louis Amundson returned to the team and the lineup after missing two games with a nasty case of the flu.