Stoudemire flourishes with Diaw sidelined

The Suns want to get Boris Diaw back on the floor and into the starting lineup again as soon as possible – sometime this week is the probable scenario — but there has been at least one positive byproduct to his absence due to back problems.

It has afforded a chance for Amaré Stoudemire to test-drive the kind of heavy minutes he’ll likely be playing in the postseason. Stoudemire responded with a string of six straight 20-point, 10-rebound games before settling for 17 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday’s 99-94 win over the Lakers.

Stoudemire has accepted the extra workload with no residual fatigue and no problems with either of his surgically repaired knees.

“The next day, he’s been alive and spry. That’s worked out fantastic,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said. “When Boris gets back, we’ll get his minutes down some and get him some rest. But we wanted him to experience playing 42, 43 minutes because I don’t want it to be a shock when he has to do it later.”

After missing all but three games last year following microfracture surgery, Stoudemire is the only Sun to play in every game this season.

“Sometimes when you lose something, you find out how important it is to you,” D’Antoni said. “I don’t think Amaré wants to miss any games. You only have so many in your career, and he’s missed enough lately. You get hurt like that and you are faced with the reality of not playing, every game becomes more precious.”

Stoudemire might be forced to sit if he keeps collecting technical fouls. He has 12 technical fouls – only Detroit bad boy Rasheed Wallace has more with 17 – and three more would result in a suspension.

“We talked to him about it and told him he can’t get to 15,” D’Antoni said. “Either that, or he has to get them quick so (the suspension) doesn’t hurt us later.”

Most of Stoudemire’s 12 technicals have come from double-technical calls or when he makes a demonstrative gesture – now a zero-tolerance move in the eyes of referees.

“It’s just little stuff. It’s not like he’s cussing people all over the place – I’ve never heard him cuss and I don’t even think he does,” D’Antoni said. “He’s hasn’t gotten his money’s worth, but he won’t miss it either.”

Remember the Alamo

D’Antoni has been very careful to include San Antonio in all conversations regarding the top teams in the West. After slogging through the first three months of the schedule, the Spurs have reeled off eight straight wins during a daunting part of their schedule and regained the No. 3 spot in the West – a possible Western Conference semifinal opponent for the Suns.

The Suns lead the Spurs by four games in the loss column and would have homecourt advantage.

“The Spurs are in the same class as Dallas, in that you have to have everyone firing on all cylinders to beat them,” D’Antoni said. “Other people may have dismissed them, but with the people they have, that’s crazy. They have won championships. Dallas hasn’t, we haven’t. And that kind of experience talks pretty loud at playoff time.”

Bonus Shots

Shawn Marion played 42 minutes Sunday after missing two games with hand and quadriceps problems (13 points, 12 rebounds) and said he still isn’t 100 percent. “I was just trying not to think about (the sore hand), it was bothering me and I got some stingers here and there,” he said. “I’m hoping two more off days will really help. But that was the first ABC game in Phoenix since I’ve been here. I wasn’t going to miss it.” … Another possible reason for Steve Nash’s 2-for-11 shooting performance in the first half? He told ABC’s Michele Tafoya after the game that he suffered through a nasty bout of diarrhea before the game. Nash then apologized for his conversation topic on national television, noting “it must be around brunch time in Hawaii.”