CHICAGO, Jan. 27 Amare Stoudemire scored 24 points Sunday and the Phoenix Suns came away with an 88-77 win over the Chicago Bulls.
The Suns surged ahead when reserve guard Leandro Barbosa sank a driving layup and back-to-back three-pointers in a 12-0 fourth quarter run, giving the Suns an 82-66 lead with 6:25 left.
Chicago never threatened in the late stages.
Shawn Marion had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six steals.
Steve Nash ended with 14 points and seven assists and Barbosa added 13 points for the Suns, who won for the sixth time in their last seven games without oft-injured veteran forward Grant Hill (back spasms).
They had a 46-42 lead at the half.
Chicago was led by Kirk Hinrich's 31 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha both scored 10 for the Bulls, who also played without injured players Ben Gordon (ankle) and Luol Deng (Achilles tendinitis).
Chicago has dropped three of four.
Copyright 2008 by UPI
