Suns notebook: Strawberry earning increased minutes

Even if D.J. Strawberry didn’t do anything in his first two games as a rotation player, he’d still be in there because the Suns rolled to easy wins and his coach is as superstitious as they come.

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But Strawberry’s energy on defense and in the open court earned him 21 minutes Sunday, and his six points, three assists, one steal and one block were just what the Suns were looking for.

“He gets after it; that jumps right out at you,” D’Antoni said. “It’s not anything that he has to do. We’ve got a great team out there, we just need his energy. He tries for every loose ball, every rebound and hopefully he can stay right that. That stuff is invaluable.”

Strawberry is loving every minute of it only a month after playing in the Developmental League.

“I’m just trying to bring defense and run around and do whatever it takes to get minutes,” he said. “We have so many scorers and playmakers out there, we just need someone to be out there dogging people on defense, diving around and doing the dirty work. That’s perfect for me. Tonight was better than (Friday) and hopefully the next game is even better.”

DOUBLE DIGITS

The Suns’ current run includes games against the Clippers, a five-win Minnesota team and a New Jersey team this is sliding downhill quickly, but the Suns have held four straight opponents to less than 100 points for the first time in more than three years (Nov. 18-Dec. 6, 2005). They lost to the Clippers, but won comfortably over the Lakers, T-Wolves and Nets and are 14-1 when keeping foes to less than triple digits.

GETTING ON THE GLASS

Dead last in the NBA in offensive rebounds, the Suns had 17 on Sunday against a Nets team that starts Josh Boone at center and Sean Williams at power forward. When asked after the game if he liked the matchups, Amaré Stoudemire smiled and put up two thumbs.

“It’s about time,” he said.

Guard Steve Nash said the numbers are a direct result of the work ethic the team has found over the last week.

“If we play hard with consistent effort, we’re going to be good,” he said. “We have to continue to build on this and play with confidence and energy. I don’t judge us on whether we make shots or not. That stuff happens. It’s a matter of how hard we’re working.”

MORE HELP ON THE WAY

The Suns are 5-2 without Grant Hill but have discovered during his absence how many ways he makes them better. He will be back, barring any problems at practice today, Tuesday when the Suns visit frigid Milwaukee to face the Bucks.

D’Antoni said Hill will go right back into the starting lineup, although his minutes will be monitored.

“It will be great to have him back, but we’ve been able to give D.J. some playing time and Boris (Diaw) some more time, which has been good for both of them,” he said.

“We need Boris to continue to give us that same production. If he does we’ll be that much better.”

Diaw had 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with six assists Sunday, giving him three strong games in his last five and a pair of double-doubles after going a year without one.

BONUS SHOTS

Steve Nash’s nine assists give him 6,372 in his career, 14 behind Norm Nixon (6,386) for 22nd on the all-time NBA list.

Shawn Marion on the team’s rare 48-38 rebounding edge: “Most of the time, when we outrebound a team, that means either we’re bigger than them, or they aren’t that big.”

The Suns had 12 more 3-pointers Sunday, the eighth straight game in which they’ve made at least nine. Over that span, the Suns are shooting 43 percent (91-of-212) from behind the arc.

Raja Bell has scored 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time since early last season (Nov. 26-29, 2006). Over the last seven games, Bell is averaging 15.3 points on .451 shooting (.423 from 3-point range), bumping his season scoring average from 10.6 to 11.9 per game.

The Suns have won five straight home games, tying a season high, and have won those five games by an average of 16.5 points.

Phoenix is now 15-2 against the East this season and has won 80 percent of its home games against the East over the last four seasons (86-21).