Suns squash Hornets, rise to NBA best 8-1

Amaré Stoudemire and Steve Nash combined to hit all eight of their first-quarter shots and the Phoenix Suns used a sizzling opening period to beat the New Orleans Hornets 124-104 on Wednesday night for their eighth victory in nine games.

The Suns (8-1) have the best record in the Western Conference and are tied with the Boston Celtics for the league’s best mark. Phoenix will face its toughest test Thursday night when they face the defending champion Lakers at Los Angeles. The Lakers are 6-1 and will be playing after three days rest.

The last time the Suns had such an enviable record at the start of the season was 1980-81 when they began 11-1.

Phoenix’s 124 points were a season high and the win was their fourth in a row.

The victory was the Suns’ 12th straight at home, including nine last season. They have not lost at US Airways Center since March 12 against Cleveland. This was the 29th consecutive game they have scored at least 100 points at home and improved their home record to 17-3 under Coach Alvin Gentry, since he replaced Terry Porter in February.

Reaching 100 points in all nine games this season marks the first time they have done it since the 1990-91 season, and makes them the only team to score that many in every game this season.

Stoudemire led eight Phoenix players in double figures with 21 points. Grant Hill scored 18, Goran Dragic 14, Channing Frye and Jason Richardson 13 apiece, Nash had 12 and Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa 11 each. Nash also had 10 assists.

Chris Paul topped New Orleans with 25 points and Emeka Okafor scored 13.

The Suns were outstanding in the opening period, hitting 16 of their 22 shots. Of their first 16 shots, they made 13, missing only three 3-pointers.

Stoudemire, using his maneuverability to get free under the basket, hit all five of his field goal attempts, and Nash, working the offense to perfection was 3-for-3. He also had seven assists. The Suns finished the period with a 40-29 lead.

The Hornets were hurt early when David West, their second-leading scorer, left after only 1:12 with a strained right knee. He limped to the locker room and missed about six minutes, but when he returned he was generally ineffective. West wound up with only 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting.

By halftime, the Suns had stretched their lead to 75-56, helped by a huge 23-9 rebounding advantage.

Phoenix padded its lead to 27 points, 85-58, early in the third quarter, outscoring New Orleans 13-5 in the first 7:13. Frye capped the burst with a 3-pointer. At the end of the quarter, when Phoenix led 101-77, the Suns had 11 3s, giving them 100 for the season, making them the fastest team in NBA history to reach that plateau.

Bonus shots: The Suns were only 1-3 against the Lakers last season and are only 25-80 against them all-time at Los Angeles. ... Before playing the Hornets, the Suns were shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range — higher than 20 NBA teams’ overall field goal percentage.