Two-times MVP Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns humiliated the Washington Wizards 127-105 on Tuesday to win their 14th straight game and avenge a demoralising early season loss to the Southeast Division leaders.

Nash had 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting and handed out 14 assists to lead seven Suns scoring in double figures.

"Steve Nash is the ultimate playmaker," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan told reporters.

"He is the MVP for reasons we saw tonight. He was picking us apart."

Washington snapped the Suns' 15-game winning streak with a 144-139 overtime victory in December before a raucous sellout crowd of more than 18,000 at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix.

This time, with a 13-game winning streak on the line, the Suns outplayed, outworked and outhustled the Wizards from the opening tip-off.

"We have nights like this," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.

"We can score. Some nights are better than others and tonight we just hit all our shots."

Phoenix (33-8) raced to a 25-11 lead, deploying its run-and-gun offense to perfection while the Wizards misfired on 12 of their first 15 shots.

The Suns had a 41-20 lead after the opening quarter and the Wizards spent the rest of the game trying to play catch-up.

"That first quarter was as good as it gets," Nash said.

"We've had a number of quarters like that this season. But that was about as well as we can play offensively."

The Suns' lead grew to as many as 29 before the Wizards staged a modest comeback to trim the lead to 13 midway through the final period.

Washington (24-17) leads the Southeast Division and entered Tuesday's night's play with the best record in the Eastern Conference.

"They beat us, plain and simple," Wizards guard Antonio Daniels said. "There are no excuses and we had no distractions.

"It is a maturing process and they are at a point where we are trying to get. It is not something that happens overnight."

The Suns, the league's highest scoring team, trail the Dallas Mavericks by just one game for the NBA's best record.

Guard Raja Bell and forward Shawn Marion each had 21 for the Suns, who opened their five-game road swing before a sellout crowd of 20,173 at the Verizon Center.

"This was an important game for us to start the road trip," D'Antoni added.

"We respect the Wizards. We had to play our 'A' game and we played our 'A' game. Steve (Nash) was unbelievable tonight."

Gilbert Arenas scored 31 points for the Wizards, but by the time he started hitting his rainbow jump shots, the Suns' victory had already been sealed.

"We are not worried about it -- it's the NBA and you're going to lose games," said Arenas, who scored 54 in the Wizards' December victory over the Suns.

(China Daily via Agencies January 25, 2007)