Suns notes: Stoudemire’s ejection ruins strong game

He had only his second double-figure rebounding game since Nov. 5. After going to the free-throw line only 49 times in the last 10 games, he visited the stripe 10 times in the first quarter alone.

But as with the Suns, Sunday night didn’t end well for Amaré Stoudemire. He missed all four shots from the field in the fourth quarter, and his ejection with 3:24 left in the game crippled his team down the stretch in a 117-109 loss to the Nets.

Suns torched by Nets' Harris, blow late lead

Stoudemire has done a good job of keeping his emotions and fouls under control this season, but that’s slipped a little of late. And while his ejection appeared to be a quick trigger by referee Derek Richardson, it capped a night on which most of the Suns’ problems were self-inflicted.

“You can’t do that. You can’t get kicked out,” Suns coach Terry Porter said.

Stoudemire took the ball to the basket early, bulling his way to the hoop and putting three New Jersey big men in foul trouble single-handedly.

“I felt great. I was doing everything I could to key us to a win, playing extremely hard and playing off emotion,” said Stoudemire, who finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. “It’s tough to deal with. We had the game under control, we played well at times, but in the end, it’s just another loss.”

PROBLEMS AT HOME?

The Suns and the Spurs are the only two NBA teams that have won at least 30 homes games in each of the last four seasons. But at this rate, the Suns aren’t going to get there this time.

After back-to-back home losses to Eastern Conference teams they had dominated with regularity (Miami and New Jersey), the Suns are an unsightly 4-5 on their home floor — a complete reversal from their 7-2 mark on the road.

“I think on the road, we’ve played with more energy and focus,” Porter said. “I don’t know why that is. Granted, we’ve played some tougher teams at home. But from an energy standpoint, we have more of a ‘me against the world’ mentality on the road.

“We haven’t come out well and let the crowd get into games, although tonight was an exception. But when we make mistakes, it leads to easy baskets and things really start rolling in the wrong direction.”

The 22 turnovers Sunday night — and the inability to stop Devin Harris and Vince Carter (75 combined points) — completely obliterated the positive things Phoenix accomplished.

“When you look at the numbers, you try to figure ‘How did we lose?’ ” Porter said. “We shot 54 percent (from the field), 52 percent from 3-point range. We scored 62 points in the first half. We had more rebounds and assists. It’s all about the turnovers. Of all the stats, that’s what kills you.”

NASH REBOUNDS

A game-time decision with a thigh contusion that forced him to wear a heavy protective pad, Steve Nash was able to put up a season-high 26 points, although he put up a rare 20 shots to get there.

“It’s getting better every day,” Nash said of his thigh. “I didn’t take a hit on it, and now I have a couple of days to get better, so hopefully I can put it behind me.”

Nash also had nine assists, tying him with Guy Rodgers (6,917) for 14th on the NBA’s all-time list. But the positives vanished in a frustrating fourth quarter.

“I thought we had a really good first half, but it’s hard to take any positive out of the game, because it was one we should have won,” he said. “We had the game comfortably, but we let it slip away.

BREAKING THROUGH

The last Nets coach to win a game in Phoenix (March 13, 1993) was Chuck Daly.

Since then, Butch Beard, John Calipari, Don Casey and Byron Scott all tried and failed during the 0-14 run at US Airways Center before Lawrence Frank won Sunday.

BONUS SHOTS

The Suns lost for the first time when scoring 100 points this season. They had been 9-0 when reaching the century mark. They also lost for the first time when leading after three quarters (10-1). …

While Allen Iverson struggles against the Suns, Carter has been just the opposite. After scoring 28 on Sunday, Carter is now averaging 27.5 points in his 19 career games against Phoenix, his highest against any opponent. …

Harris has now scored 30 points six times in his last 11 games.