PHOENIX — Amare Stoudemire scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and Phoenix recovered after blowing a 17-point lead to beat Golden State 122-116 on Monday night, eliminating the Warriors from playoff contention.
The Warriors’ loss clinched the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference for the Nuggets, who could move into seventh place if they defeat the Memphis Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks lose to the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday.
Steve Nash nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds as the Suns remained in the midst of a scramble for playoff positioning and a possible home-court advantage in the first round.
Stephen Jackson scored 16 of his 23 points in the Warriors’ third-quarter comeback. Monta Ellis added 20 points, Kelenna Azubuike 17 and Andris Biedrins 16.
Golden State played nearly the entire second half without Baron Davis, who was benched by coach Don Nelson after going 2-for-13 in just under 17 minutes.
Shaquille O’Neal had 19 points and 15 rebounds for Phoenix. Leandro Barbosa scored 19 and Raja Bell had 16.
Phoenix, Houston and Utah are tied for fourth in the West at 54-27.
The Suns led by 17 points in the second quarter and were up 73-57 in the first minute of the third. But the Warriors rallied behind Jackson and led 107-96 with 6:59 left.
Phoenix used an 11-0 run to tie it on Bell’s layup with 4:21 to play.
Jackson’s 3-pointer with three minutes to go tied it at 112, but Stoudemire’s two free throws with 2:28 left made it 114-112.
Barbosa’s 3-pointer from the corner, on an assist from Boris Diaw, put Phoenix up 117-112.
Biedrins scored inside to cut the lead to 117-114, but Barbosa made a driving layup with 56 seconds left.
