Sacramento Kings (9-8) at Phoenix Suns (14-5), 9 p.m.
Sports Network | December 5, 2009
(Sports Network) - The Phoenix Suns hope to remain perfect of their home floor tonight when they welcome the improved Sacramento Kings to US Airways Center.
The Suns, who are 6-0 in the desert, are coming off two straight blowout losses on the road. Most recently, Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored a team-high 14 points and also set a franchise record for games played with the team, as the Cavaliers built a substantial lead early and beat Phoenix, 107-90, on Wednesday.
Channing Frye had a game-high 22 points and seven boards for the Suns, who were held to a season-low in points -- nine less than their previous low achieved in Tuesday's setback to New York. Amare Stoudemire added 14 points and 12 boards, while Steve Nash had 14 points and five assists in defeat for Phoenix, which lost consecutive games for the first time all season.
The Kings, meanwhile, have also been very good on their home floor this season but hope to prove they can play on the road tonight.
Sacramento improved to 8-2 at ARCO Arena on Wednesday when rookie star Tyreke Evans scored 26 points and Sacramento held off Indiana, 110-105, to finish with a perfect mark on a four-game homestand.
Jason Thompson added 22 points, while Spencer Hawes chipped in 21 points and seven rebounds for Sacramento, which had lost four in a row before securing victories against New York, New Jersey and New Orleans at home. They finished the residency by shooting 50.6 percent from the field against the Pacers.
"If you look at the make-up and the nature of most of our guys, a lot of guys have that inner swagger," said Hawes. "When you combine that with a team that's having some success early, it allows us to be confident that we can get it done."
The Kings, however, are a miserable 1-6 on the road. They have lost seven straight and eight of their past nine trips to the desert. In fact, Sacramento hasn't won in Phoenix since a 118-117 thriller on Nov. 6, 2005.
