PHOENIX — Shawn Marion and the Phoenix Suns finished strong Wednesday night.
Marion scored 18 of his season-high 32 points in the second half and Phoenix used a surge over the final five minutes to pull away from the Memphis Grizzlies, 98-85.
Stephon Marbury added 22 points and rookie Amare Stoudemire continued his fine play with 14 points and a season-high 15 rebounds as Phoenix got back on track against a team it has owned.
The Suns improved to 18-2 in their last 20 games against the Grizzlies and are 24-4 all-time against them.
Marion, who scored a season-high 30 points in Monday’s overtime loss to Miami, made 12-of-21 shots, grabbed 12 rebounds and had three steals. The Suns improved to 6-2 when he scores at least 20 points.
“Shawn played great tonight,” Marbury said. “He was the MVP tonight, he went out and did everything – rebound, score, play defense. He did a great job tonight, all around.”
“He’s a rhythm shooter and he got hot,” Memphis forward Shane Battier said. “You can see he had a bounce in his step.”
Marion had 13 points in the final 12 minutes. He played a key role as Phoenix broke open an 83-78 game by scoring 15 of the final 19 points.
“Down the stretch, I thought Shawn Marion was great,” Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown said. “I don’t know how many he made, but he made a lot and he made big ones with the clock running down.”
“I’m just taking it as it comes, trying to let it happen, not trying to force the issue,” Marion said. “It just happened to work out that way, I’m getting looks and knocking them down.”
Gordan Giricek led Memphis with 18 points and fellow rookie Drew Gooden added 12 and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies, who are 0-9 on the road this season and have dropped four straight overall.
Memphis trailed 81-74 with eight minutes left, but Lorenzen Wright had three points and Stromile Swift and Pau Gasol layups in a 7-2 run. With Phoenix’s lead sliced to 83-81 with five minutes to go, Marion and Penny Hardaway took over.
Hardaway buried two free throws with 4:44 remaining and Marion drained a 14-footer 37 seconds later. After Mike Batiste hit two free throws for Memphis, Marion hit a 3-pointer and Marbury a 20-footer just over a minute apart for a 92-83 cushion with 2:18 left.
Wright had a layup, but Scott Williams countered by burying a 16-footer with 92 seconds to go. Marbury completed the scoring with a layup and long jumper in the final 77 seconds.
“We had a chance,” Memphis coach Hubie Brown said. “They had quick legs and we were not that quick. But no excuses in the NBA, we had a chance at 87-83. I’ll take that every time in the other guy’s building.”
Phoenix trailed 25-15 with 1:15 left in the opening quarter before going on a 24-8 run and took a six-point lead with 4:28 left in the second quarter.
Stoudemire, who did not score in the fourth quarter, has double-doubles in four of his last six contests.
“The young man is going to be terrific,” Brown added. “With him, the offense is a bonus. … He’s all about effort, young legs and great jumping ability. … He’s a real diamond for them.”
Memphis held a 33-13 edge in bench scoring.
