PHOENIX — Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points, Jared Dudley matched his career best with 19 and the Phoenix Suns sent the Los Angeles Lakers to their second loss in three games with a surprising 118-103 rout on Monday night.
Kobe Bryant scored 34 for the Lakers but sat out the final eight minutes when the game was deemed out of reach by coach Phil Jackson.
Steve Nash had 16 points and 13 assists and the Suns' reserves outscored their Los Angeles counterparts 52-31.
Phoenix led by as many as 12 in the second quarter, 19 in the third and 22 in the fourth to improve to 12-2 at home.
The Lakers were without Ron Artest for the second game in a row. He sustained a concussion and an injured elbow in a fall at his house on Christmas Day.
The margin matched the 15-point victory Cleveland had over the Lakers in Los Angeles three games ago. Only a late spurt kept it from being the most one-sided loss of the season for the reigning NBA champs.
Los Angeles' lone win in the last three came in double overtime two nights ago in Sacramento.
Channing Frye had 14 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for the Suns, who fought the much bigger Lakers to a 43-43 standoff on the boards.
The Lakers, playing the third of four games in five days, trailed virtually all night. Leading 56-50 at the half, Phoenix used a 17-4 outburst to go up 87-68 on the first of Dudley's three 3-pointers without a miss.
Nash and Jason Richardson also had 3s in the run, while Stoudemire scored four, including a driving dunk.
Bryant scored nine straight Lakers points, but his driving layup at third-quarter buzzer was blocked by Robin Lopez, and the Suns led 89-77 entering the fourth.
Dudley and Goran Dragic sank consecutive 3s and Phoenix led 108-89 with 6:51. By then, Bryant had sat down for good.
Coach Alvin Gentry, taking no chances, reinserted Nash and Stoudemire in the lineup with 4:54 left and Phoenix leading 110-94. Stoudemire had a three-point play and Nash made a 3-pointer to give the Suns a 116-94 lead with 3:27 left.
A 12-0 run at the end of the first quarter and start of the second put Phoenix ahead 32-23 on Leandro Barbosa's two free throws with 10:53 left in the half. Two more at the line by Barbosa gave the Suns their biggest lead of the first half at 39-27 with 8:13 to go.
Bryant's 3-pointer, followed by his 15-footer cut it to 48-45 with 2:09 left in the half. Stoudemire scored the next six for the Suns, and after Bryant's driving layup with 9.5 seconds left made it 54-51, Nash sank two free throws with 2.7 remaining to put the Suns up 56-51 at the break.
Notes
Jackson said he is hopeful Artest will rejoin the team against Golden State Tuesday in Los Angeles. … The Suns lost to the Lakers in Los Angeles by 19 and 21 points. Phoenix was in the second of back-to-back games in both contests. … Phoenix has a victory over the teams with the three best records in the league — the Lakers, Boston and Orlando.