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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Even after Shawn Marion had the game of
his career, Jason Kidd was the center of attention.
Marion had a career-high 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Kidd had
14 points and 10 assists as the Suns beat the cold-shooting Golden
State Warriors 93-83 Tuesday night.
Marion was the star in an easy win for Phoenix, but it was hard
to tell from the postgame scene in the Suns' locker room. In one
corner, Oakland native Kidd answered questions from a swarm of
reporters; in the other corner, Marion dressed quietly -- and alone.
"Oh, I don't mind," he said with a grin. "As long as we're
winning, those distractions are going to go away. Jason had a good
game with some pressure on him."
Marion scored most of his points on fast breaks or offensive
rebounds as the Suns capitalized on the Warriors' poor shooting and
league-worst defense. He scored seven straight points in the fourth
quarter as Phoenix fed him the ball until he surpassed his
career-high.
"Everything was working," Marion said. "Inside, outside,
everything. It was a good feeling."
The Suns returned from the All-Star break to split the season
series with Golden State and win for the third time in four games.
After three difficult games against the Warriors this season,
Phoenix shook off the post-break doldrums to rout Golden State.
"You could tell everybody was a little rusty," said Clifford
Robinson, who scored 13 points. "There were a lot of airballs out
there. When you come off the break, the first game can be really
tough."
The Suns didn't need to play very well to beat the Warriors, who
shot 34 percent in the first half, scored 51 points in the first
three quarters and got no closer than five points after the game's
opening minutes. Phoenix also had a season-high 14 blocks.
Antawn Jamison had 26 points and eight rebounds for the
Warriors, who scored 32 points in the fourth quarter and closed the
game with a 19-8 run to avoid an embarrassing final score. Marc
Jackson had 14 rebounds but just six points on 3-of-14 shooting.
"We couldn't hit shots -- bad shot selection, same old story,"
Jamison said. "We were rusty, but so were they. They found a way
to play together as a team and get the job done."
Bob Sura added 14 points for the Warriors, who made 18 turnovers
while losing for the 14th time in 19 games.
The worst of the Warriors was Mookie Blaylock, who was stripped
of his captaincy two weeks ago when he played golf instead of going
to practice in San Antonio. Blaylock, the subject of numerous trade
rumors in recent weeks, went 3-for-16 from the field -- including
two missed layups -- and was loudly booed several times.
The game didn't have much drama after the pregame introduction
of Kidd, who received a mixture of cheers, boos and taunts in his
first return to his hometown since being accused of domestic
violence. Kidd normally gets loud cheers from Oakland crowds.
"All I can control is my play," Kidd said. "I answer these
questions over and over, and it's like a broken record. I'm just
going to keep playing ball, because the stuff in my (personal life)
is in the past."
The Warriors missed 12 of their first 14 shots, including 10
straight, as Phoenix opened the game on a 14-4 run and never
trailed again. Golden State lost to Phoenix for the 20th time in
their last 23 meetings.
Game notes
Phoenix center Jake Tsakilidis tied his career high with 11
rebounds. ... Larry Hughes returned to the Warriors' lineup after
missing most of the last four weeks with a sprained thumb, but he
played sparingly. His jumper with 4:14 left gave the Warriors 66
points, allowing them to avoid the lowest-scoring game in team
history. ... For the second straight year, Golden State is leading
the league in man-games lost to injury. Entering Tuesday's games,
the Warriors had 15 players out for a combined 218 games because of
injuries -- 30 more than second-place Cleveland. ... Vonteego
Cummings hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final minute for Golden
State.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
Golden State Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 77
Indiana 66
Toronto 120
Cleveland 105
Miami 101
LA Clippers 99
LA Lakers 113
New Jersey 110
Philadelphia 107
Milwaukee 104
Sacramento 97
Utah 94
Chicago 96
Atlanta 92
Houston 99
Washington 89
San Antonio 104
Dallas 92
Denver 96
New York 77
Portland 109
Minnesota 88
Vancouver 99
Boston 98
Phoenix 93
Golden State 83
FROM
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