Suns win 17th straight; Spurs stun Lakers in OT

LeBron James walked off the court thoroughly impressed by the Phoenix Suns' dominant display of speed and offense. <br/><br/>``The way they're playing right now, they're unbeatable,''

Monday, January 29th 2007, 6:57 am

By: News On 6

LeBron James walked off the court thoroughly impressed by the Phoenix Suns' dominant display of speed and offense.

``The way they're playing right now, they're unbeatable,'' James said.

They certainly are, and the rest of the NBA is finding that out on a nightly basis.

Steve Nash scored 23 points and had 15 assists as the Suns extended their winning streak to 17 games _ the NBA's longest in seven years _ by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-100 on Sunday.

Coach Mike D'Antoni's streaking squad hasn't lost since Dec. 28 at Dallas.

``No matter what you do defensively, he's going to find a way to counter it,'' James said. ``No matter how you try to stop him, he's got the weapons. That's a heck of a team.''

And so are the San Antonio Spurs, who pulled off a 96-94 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers despite shooting a season-low 33.7 percent (32-of-95). They made their last two shots to go 5-of-8 in overtime, including Michael Finley's 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left.

``Sometimes, you've just got to be lucky,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

In other games Sunday, it was: Milwaukee 107, New York 105; Washington 105, Boston 91; Detroit 95, Indiana 87; and the Los Angeles Clippers 98, Seattle 76.

At Cleveland, Shawn Marion added 23 points and Amare Stoudemire 22 for the Suns, who improved to 34-4 since opening the season 1-5. Phoenix, which had a 15-game win streak earlier this season, also matched a franchise record with its ninth straight road win and is 20-1 vs. Eastern Conference teams.

Phoenix's 17-game streak is tied for the fifth longest in NBA history, and with three more victories the Suns would match the second-best streak: a 20-gamer by the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks.

And, if they keep it up, the Suns could soon challenge the Los Angeles Lakers' record of 33 straight wins in 1971-72.

``People don't talk about the 33-game streak, they talk about who won the championship that year,'' Nash said, noting the Lakers won the league title in '71-72. ``I don't feel unbeatable. We've got a lot of improving to do.''

James scored 30 points to lead the Cavaliers, who managed just 13 points in the final 12 minutes on 5-of-22 shooting.

The Suns will look for their 18th consecutive win Monday in Minnesota.

``We just have the swagger,'' Marion said. ``I don't think it's the streak. This is more about us and the thought that we can't lose. We've got 17. Now we have to focus on getting the next one.''

Spurs 96, Lakers 94, OT

At Los Angeles, Tim Duncan found Finley, who shot from well beyond the arc and hit nothing but net on his long jumper over Lamar Odom. The win helped the Spurs avoid their first regular-season sweep at the hands of the Lakers in nine years.

``Mike stepped into it and it was just an incredible shot,'' Duncan said.

Finley scored 17 with five 3-pointers.

Vladimir Radmanovic's 3-point attempt as time expired didn't come close.

Duncan's layup with 20 seconds to play gave the Spurs a 93-92 lead, but Kobe Bryant's 20-foot jumper over Bruce Bowen with 7 seconds left put the Lakers on top, setting the stage for Finley.

Duncan had 21 points, 14 rebounds, a season-high nine assists and three blocks to lead the Spurs.

Bucks 107, Knicks 105

Mo Williams had 30 points, including a running, 20-foot jumper with 3.1 seconds left, and 10 assists to help Milwaukee snap a six-game losing streak.

Milwaukee, which had lost 11 of its last 12 and nearly completed its first winless month at home in more than 15 years, outhustled the visiting Knicks for most of the game before New York made a furious rally.

Jamal Crawford, who scored 17 points in the fourth and finished with 26, hit an open 3 to draw the Knicks within one at 106-105. The Knicks then fouled Williams with 0.4 seconds left. Williams, who meant to miss his second free throw, made it, giving the Knicks a chance to tie or win, but Crawford couldn't get a 3-pointer off from the corner in time.

Wizards 105, Celtics 91

Antawn Jamison scored 34 points and Caron Butler added 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead Washington past slumping Boston.

Gilbert Arenas shrugged off a poor shooting night and finished with 23 points for the Wizards, who have won six of seven to move into first place in the Eastern Conference.

Delonte West had 22 points and 11 assists for the Celtics, who have lost 11 straight and a franchise-worst ninth consecutive at home.

Pistons 95, Pacers 87

Chris Webber had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Detroit coach Flip Saunders picked up his 500th victory.

Rasheed Wallace added 20 points for Detroit, including 18 in the second half, while Richard Hamilton scored 21.

Jermaine O'Neal had 26 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for visiting Indiana.

Clippers 98, SuperSonics 76

Sam Cassell scored 21 points in just 19 minutes, Elton Brand added 22 and Los Angeles led by as many as 37 in a rout of Seattle.

Ray Allen led Seattle with 15 points, but the Sonics suffered through three quarters of poor shooting, finishing at 32.9 percent.