NBA ROUNDUP | Tuesday’s other games

Suns 121, Pacers 117

INDIANAPOLIS — Amare Stoudemire scored 42 points to lead Phoenix. Stoudemire shot 15-for-24 from the field and 12-for-13 from the free throw line. He also had 13 rebounds. Steve Nash had 18 points and 17 assists, and Shawn Marion added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns (14-4), who have won three straight. Jermaine O’Neal scored a season-high 30 points on 14-for-20 shooting for the Pacers (9-10). Mike Dunleavy scored 22 points and Jamaal Tinsley had 19 points and 12 assists for Indiana. It was Phoenix’s fifth straight win in the series. Nash made two free throws with 1:11 left to cut Indiana’s lead to 117-115, then made a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to give the Suns a 118-117 lead. Tinsley missed a spinning shot in close, and the Suns rebounded. With the shot clock winding down, Stoudemire’s mid-range shot bounced up, then in with 6.5 seconds remaining to give the Suns a 120-117 advantage. Indiana’s Danny Granger missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game, and the Suns rebounded to clinch the win. Stoudemire scored 23 points to help the Suns take a 69-64 lead at halftime. The Suns led 66-51 in the second quarter, but the Pacers closed the half on a 13-3 run. Phoenix led 96-90 at the end of the third quarter after leading by 12 points midway through the period.

Pistons 106, Hawks 95

ATLANTA — The Detroit Pistons scored 22 of the first 31 points in the third quarter to break open a close game for their fourth straight victory. Chauncey Billups made two free throws with 1.4 seconds left in the third period, giving the balanced Pistons’ attack seven players in double figures and an 87-61 lead with a full period left. The Philips Arena scoreboard, perhaps unable to keep up, was blank for the start of the final quarter. At one point in the third quarter the posted score was Hawks 75, Pistons 0. That fiction was as close as the Hawks came to holding a lead. Tayshaun Prince led the Pistons with 23 points. Atlanta native and former University of Georgia star Jarvis Hayes had 17 points in 17 minutes. Richard Hamilton had 14 and Jason Maxiell added 13. The Pistons have won six of seven. Their average margin of victory in the first three wins of their streak was 28 points. The Pistons outscored the Hawks 30-13 in the third quarter. Josh Childress, who paced Atlanta with 18 points, led a mini-comeback in the final quarter, when both teams relied heavily on reserves.

Lakers 116, Timberwolves 95.

MINNEAPOLIS — Even with a bout of the stomach flu, Kobe Bryant was too much for the NBA’s worst team. Bryant scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half to help Los Angeles jump out to a big lead, and the Lakers cruised the rest of the way. Trevor Ariza added 15 points and five rebounds, and Bryant also had five assists for the Lakers, who dropped Minnesota to 2-14. Al Jefferson had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but shot just 5-for-14 from the field. The Timberwolves have lost their last three games by a combined 65 points

Associated Press