Nash answers call, Suns start road trip with win

MILWAUKEE - Once again, the Milwaukee Bucks were forced to pick their poison. Problem is, when it comes to the Suns’ pick-and-roll offense, some nights there just isn’t a right answer.

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Even though Steve Nash burned the Bucks for 35 points in a Suns win 10 days ago in Phoenix, Milwaukee still stuck with the axiom, now well-worn throughout the league, that a shooting Nash is still more palatable than the passing, get-everyone-involved Nash who powers his team’s running game.

Back to the drawing board.

Nash not only went for 37 points — his second-highest regular-season scoring game ever — he scored or assisted on the last 16 Phoenix points as the Suns rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to slalom past the Bucks 114-105 at a Bradley Center surrounded by snowdrifts.

“They stuck with their strategy, so I wanted to keep being aggressive and keep making money out of that,” said Nash, who made 13 of 23 shots and had 10 of Phoenix’s first 24 points to set the tone for the night. “If I lost my rhythm, then I could always go to post and pass. But I kind of got in a good rhythm and got it going.”

The Suns have it going, too. They have now won four straight and are the second team to 30 wins (30-12) in the NBA, forging some daylight in the Western Conference as well.

“You kind of take (Nash’s play) for granted because you see it so much,” fellow guard Raja Bell said. “But on a night like tonight, you watch him and really appreciate how much he means to our team. He just took us home.”

Bell played a key role in the comeback as well, scoring eight straight points early in the fourth quarter to put the Suns within striking distance at 86-85. That’s when Nash entered for the stretch run and teamed with Amaré Stoudemire to pick and roll the Bucks into submission.

After setting up Boris Diaw for a layup, Nash hit the first of his three 3-pointers in the quarter. And after Stoudemire (19 points, 12 rebounds) hit a 19-footer without assistance to keep the Suns within two, Nash took the baton and ran the anchor leg.

First, he drew the defense before finding Stoudemire for a layup. Then, the Bucks collapsed into the paint, leaving him open for a 3-pointer from 26 feet. Then, on an inbounds play with just four seconds on the shot clock, Stoudemire leaped up for the catch, saw Nash open from 27 feet and hit him for his only assist of the night.

Suddenly, the Bucks were down seven. And with Shawn Marion putting the defensive handcuffs on Michael Redd (just two of his 28 points came in the fourth quarter), the Bucks had no answers on the other end either.

“Nash plays his best basketball when he’s getting 25 assists. We can’t afford to let him do that,” said Bucks center Andrew Bogut, who had 19 points but, like Redd, had two in the final quarter. “We thought we’d be closer in the game if he’s scoring 30 and the other guys are around 10.”

Bogut was right. It was closer. But that only counts in horseshoes — not the pick-and-roll.