Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbose scored 21 points apiece, Stoudemire delivered 13 rebounds, Steve Nash had 19 points and 15 assists and Shawn Marion posted 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Suns raised their record to 8-2.

Grant Hill also had 18 points for the Suns, who beat the Rockets for the seventh time in the last eight meetings.

"We are a very good road team," Nash told reporters.

"We turned the ball over too much and we have to work on it. We don't quite have the same flow (as last season) but we are playing well.

"I never felt the game was that close as we controlled the tempo all game."

The Suns shot 62 percent from the field and were 10-for-19 on three-point shot attempts.

Phoenix beat a Houston team that was dropping its fourth straight game, the last two with Tracy McGrady out of the lineup with an elbow injury.

The Rockets are 11-41 in games McGrady has missed since joining the team before the 2004-05 season.

"I'm really disappointed with our effort defensively in the first half," Houston coach Rick Adelman said.

"They were pretty much doing whatever they wanted to do. They were shooting 73 percent (in the first half) and we were only down by 12."

Strong defense by Stoudemire and Marion limited Yao Ming to 12 points on just 4-for-17 shooting.

"It's not just about losing," Yao said.

"The last couple of games were not good losses. In San Antonio it was OK. We gave it our best but tonight we let the Suns shoot a high percentage and we just killed ourselves."

The red-hot New Orleans Hornets got 22 points from Peja Stojakovic and 18 from Morris Peterson and won their fifth straight game, a 100-82 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Hornets are 9-2 while Minnesota is 1-7.

The Miami Heat stopped a three-game losing streak and recorded only their second win in 10 games with a 91-87 road win over the New Jersey Nets.

Dwyane Wade had 23 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Shaquille O'Neal 18 points and Penny Hardaway 16 for Miami.

Ben Gordon scored 25 points and the visiting Chicago Bulls scored only their second win in eight games with a 92-73 triumph against the injury riddled Los Angels Clippers.

With Grant Hill getting 17 points and eight rebounds in his first game in a Phoenix uniform, the Suns were off and running from the start, outscoring the Kings 29-18 in the first quarter and led the rest of the way.

Hill, who signed as a free agent in the off-season, appeared to have no problem adjusting to the Suns' uptempo pace, taking 11 first-half shots and scoring 13 points to help the Suns to a 55-46 lead.

Seemingly content to look for teammates all game instead of shoot, Victoria's Steve Nash had 11 assists and scored three points, taking just three shots.

Both Kevin Martin and Quincy Douby scored 17 points for the Kings (1-1). Mike Bibby had 10 points and led Sacramento with seven rebounds.

The Kings had trouble stopping the Suns and were also unsuccessful at the free-throw line, converting 13 of 23 attempts.

Disgruntled in the off-season and in trade rumours for much of the summer, Marion looked as motivated as any Suns player, making 7-of-10 shots and adding four assists and two blocks.

Leandro Barbosa scored 14 points and Sean Marks added 13 points and nine rebounds for Phoenix, which made 13 of 26 3-point shots. Raja Bell and Marcus Banks both scored 13 points and Boris Diaw had 10.

Last year's leading scorer for Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire, recently had arthroscopic knee surgery and watched the game in street clothes.

Strawberry, the 59th overall selection in the June draft, will receive the rookie minimum salary of US$427,163 for the 2007-08 season. The second year of the contract is a team option.

The six-foot-five Strawberry, a former University of Maryland star and son of former baseball star Darryl Strawberry, played point guard in the NBA Summer League and could provide depth at that position for the Suns.

"D.J. brings toughness, defence and athleticism to our team and we're excited that he's a part of our organization," Suns general manager Steve Kerr said. "The fact that he spent four years in college as part of a very strong program with a winning tradition is important."

In another move, the Suns promoted Vinny Del Negro to assistant general manager. Del Negro, who joined the club's front office in 2003, served as director of player personnel last season.

Before that, he spent three seasons as a colour analyst on Suns broadcasts and worked as a scout.

The Phoenix Suns will have to attempt a run at the NBA title without big man Amare Stoudemire.

The Suns announced Wednesday that Stoudemire has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and will not return this season.

The 2005 All-Star underwent a procedure at Banner Samaritan Outpatient Surgical Center on Wednesday morning to remove debris caused by wear and tear on his kneecap.  The resulting inflammation had led to the development of a cyst and pressure behind the joint.

The 23-year-old will be on crutches for the next seven to 10 days and will need six to eight weeks before he can resume court activities.

It is the second time in six months that Stoudemire has undergone knee surgery.  In October, he had microfracture surgery performed on his left knee, and he missed the first 4 1/2 months of the season before returning for three games from March 23-27.

However, soreness in the right knee prompted Phoenix to shut down its young star.

Stoudemire’s manager, Rodney Rice, told the Arizona Republic that he believes the forward-center will be ready for workouts with the United States national team that begin July 19.