With the season rolling toward its mid-February All-Star break, there has been a lot of whining and nashing of teeth amongst the diehards of Suns fandom. 'Just look at how the mighty have fallen' has been a frequent reprise in recent weeks and the chorus has been growing louder as we've moved through the waning days of January.

The less than cheery attitude is to be expected given how the Suns had dropped 18 of their last 30 games before they hit the home court Thursday evening against the Dallas Mavericks. But after their scrappy 112 -106 victory - rubbing elbows with a Suns fan should be a little more pleasant and fewer domestic disputes are to be expected home in Phoenix.

The win will also send a much needed message to the rest of the Western Conference - YES - the Suns can still hit the hardwood with some play-off quality ball. You see, Coach Alvin Gentry really does know that the Suns play-off hopes are on the line and his squad is regaining its focuse on the prize.

Amar'e Stoudemire kept the game close early on - hitting for 22 points despite the trade rumors that are once against swirling around him - and the gap was closed due to the floor leadership of Steve Nash. The darling of the Phoenix hometown crowd, Nash was the king of the turnovers in the first quarter with five but he pulled it together in the third quarter and much of the fourth.

Jason Richardson also sought to redeem himself after a disappointing month with a combination of staunch defense and 17 points in just 28:36 minutes of play. As always the issue with J-Rich is C-O-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-Y.

But Thursday's real story can be found in the second unit. You know - the least expensive back-up band in the NBA.

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Goran Dragic topped the bench scoring with 13 points in 15:39 minutes on the court including hitting two-thirds of his long range 3-point shots. But Dragic wasn't alone as two frontline subs ( Lou Amundson and Jared Dudley) dominated the court for the Suns after Amar'e was benched in the fourth quarter due to his unsteady hands and five turnovers in less than 27 minutes of play.

Amundson fueled the offense by hitting 5- 7 from the field for 12 points in just 18:27 playing time. Lou also put on a defensive show as he blocked two shots and grabbed two key rebounds.

Dudley demonstrated how to electrify the hometown crowd with his fast hands and stifled Dallas with two fourth quarter steals - both with less than five minutes left in the game - helping the Suns to pull away for good. Along with six rebounds and five assists, J-Duds was also a productive scorer with 8 points before the night was out.

Sure - it's not double digits - but J-Duds can be erratic from the field and, frankly, it could have been worse.

So the Suns are back in the play-off hunt and now it's time to get ready for Sunday's game against the tough Houston Rockets.

See ya'      

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