After watching Steve Nash score 30 points and hand out 12 assists to pull a Suns win out of the team's blown-lead hat, Sacramento coach Paul Westphal handed him the best compliment anyone has given him this season.
"I don't think I've ever seen him play this well and he's got two MVPs," Westphal said. "He's unbelievable."
It's hard to argue. Nash's 54 percent shooting is the best of his 14-year career and better than any other NBA point guard or wing player. For the fourth time in six seasons, Nash (26 points, 12 assists in Wednesday's 118-110 win over Houston) is the NBA assist leader with more games of 14 or more assists (nine) than the rest of the league's players (eight). He is on pace to have a fourth season in which he shoots at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line. Larry Bird is the only other player to ever do it twice."I feel great," said Nash, who turns 36 in one month. "When Alvin (Gentry) took over last year, I played just like I'm playing now. I feel like I played just as fast, other than the kind of experimental two-thirds of a season last year where we really were a post-up team. That was the reason people felt like there was a dip or slowing down of my career. Last year just limited my opportunities. I dribbled the ball up the court and threw it in the post. So you're not going to see me be the same player."
Tuesday's game was Nash's fourth 30-point game of the season after having two in losses last season. Phoenix is 3-1 when he scores 30 this season, and he still has averaged 8.8 assists in those games. The Suns were 8-3 in Nash's 30-point games in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Nash is as close as ever to Mark Price for the NBA career free-throw percentage record. Price shot 90.39 percent over his career and Nash's best career free-throw game Tuesday (13 for 13) put him at 90.21. But with 2,747 career tries entering Wednesday, it will take some doing to keep improving, even with his career-best 94 percent rate this season.
Lou's free throws
Nobody is going to celebrate a free-throw percentage of 55.6 too much, but that mark entering Wednesday is progress for forward Louis Amundson, who made 44.2 percent of his free throws last season. He began working this summer with a shooting coach, Dave Love.
"It's coming along," said Amundson, whose goal was 67 percent this season. "It's a process. I felt pretty comfortable (vs. Memphis when he went 4 of 5). The struggle with me on the line is to relax and not let my head get in the way."
Budinger's back
Rookie Chase Budinger, a former University of Arizona player, returned to Houston's lineup Tuesday and played more Wednesday after missing seven games with an ankle sprain. He was averaging 8.2 points before the injury.
"He's going to give us someone that runs the floor consistently and makes shots," Houston coach Rick Adelman said. "He's an energy guy and gives us size at the three-spot behind Shane (Battier). We haven't had that."
Griffin's back, too
Rookie Taylor Griffin rejoined the Suns on Wednesday for medical evaluation after a groin strain. He will return to his D-League assignment with Iowa this weekend.
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