ROTATION: Starters -- Point guard Steve Nash, Shooting guard Jason Richardson, Small forward Grant Hill, Power forward Amare Stoudemire, Center Shaquille O'Neal. Bench -- Forward Louis Amundson, Forward Matt Barnes, Guard Leandro Barbosa, Forward Jared Dudley.
PLAYER NOTES: --F Grant Hill recorded his second double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds, his first 20-10 game since Feb. 13, 2008 at Golden State. Hill's 20 points were his most since scoring a season-high 25 points Jan. 15 at Denver. His acrobatic block, length-of-the-court drive to the basket and three-point play with 1:06 left pulled the Suns within three points (107-104), but Phoenix never got any closer.
--G Steve Nash had 16 points and 18 assists Thursday. He now has a total of 96 assists (13.7 a game) over the last seven games, including individual games of 13, 15, 18, 18 and 19 during that span.
--G Leandro Barbosa, coming off two of his best offensive games of the season, struggled against the Spurs. He took only five shots in 22 minutes and finished with seven points. He played more at shooting guard with Steve Nash to make better use of his offensive talents, but the Spurs exploited the mismatches on defense with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
--C Shaquille O'Neal had a good day overall. He passed Hakeem Olajuwon for seventh place on the all-time NBA scoring list and was named to his 15th All-Star team in 17 seasons before the game. But overall, O'Neal struggled -- going 5-for-14 from the field and finishing with 13 points and six rebounds while battling foul trouble. O'Neal also had three of Phoenix's eight turnovers.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--The Suns are healthy.
