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Suns rise with 15 straight wins

Amare Stoudemire who missed most of last season recovering from a microfracture knee surgery, is back. And so are the Phoenix Suns. Already a top team last season, the Suns are even better with the young explosive forward on the team. Fifteen straight victories, the last one a 115-98 trump of the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night are a sign for their dominance. Stoudemire scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 28 minutes of play.

The 15 straight victories are a franchise record for consecutive victories. The team improves to 17-6, after a slow 2-6 start. "I`m just playing Phoenix Suns basketball," Stoudemire said. The only longer winning streak in the recent past was the Lakers` 19 wins in a row in February and March 2000, a season the Lakers won their repeat championship.

Stoudemire made 10 of his first 11 shots, and finished the first half with 22 points. The reigning league MVP Steve Nash took five shots in the first half, all misses, but passed 13 assists (and a total of 15 in the game). The suns are one of four teams in the league ? all in the Western Conference ? with a record better than .700.