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Just like Steve Nash, Stephon Marbury was on the bench at the end of his team's game. That's about the only thing they have in common these days. Nash earned more praise Wednesday night after leading the Phoenix Suns to a 126-95 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers. He had 25 points and 12 assists, shooting 9-of-11 from the floor before sitting out the fourth quarter. "I think he's had a better year this year, and he was MVP last year," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "As far as I'm concerned, that's who I'd vote for. He's incredible." Marbury — the point guard in Phoenix before his trade to New York freed up salary for the Suns to sign Nash — shouldn't wait around for similar praise from his own coach. Marbury and Larry Brown kept up their bickering at Wednesday's shootaround, but Marbury had nothing to say after Brown kept him on the bench for the fourth quarter and both overtimes of New York's 121-117 victory over Atlanta. Marbury scored all of his eight points in the first half, going 2-for-7 from the field and 4-for-10 from the foul line. He was joined on the bench by fellow high-priced veterans like Steve Francis and Jalen Rose and left without talking to the same reporters he had criticized Brown to earlier in the day. "This is a team game," Brown said after the game. "I want guys who play hard, try to defend, share the ball and make their teammates better." In other games, it was: Orlando 114, Utah 108 in overtime; Denver 101, Indiana 99; Detroit 105, Toronto 98; Washington 107, Charlotte 99; New Jersey 78, Portland 65; Milwaukee 104, Chicago 88; Dallas 95, Houston 81; and the Los Angeles Lakers 92, Minnesota 89 Most of the attention in New York was focused on Brown and Marbury, who have been feuding in the media over the last few days after Marbury's comments over the weekend that he needed to be more offensive minded because Brown's way wasn't leading to enough wins. Brown responded Monday night by saying he had already given Marbury more freedom than any guard he had ever coached. More harsh words followed Tuesday and Wednesday, with Marbury vowing to fire back as long as Brown did. "I'm no longer going to allow him to say things about me and I'm not going to say anything back," Marbury said. "I allowed him to drag me the first three or four months in the paper. But I'm not taking it no more." Brown was in a much better mood after watching the way his reserves performed down the stretch. Jamal Crawford led New York with 21 points, Nate Robinson had 18 — all after the third quarter — and Qyntel Woods added 18, going 8-for-8 from the field. New York's bench outscored Atlanta 77-17. "I was thrilled. The young kids have been working hard and it shows," Brown said. "They played together well and they defended well, made some big plays and that's a reward in itself." The only thing the Suns' reserves had to do was extend the lead. The Suns, winners of 14 of their last 16, scored the first 10 points of the game and Los Angeles never was closer than eight after that. The blowout gave Phoenix (45-19) a 7 1/2-game lead over the second-place Clippers (37-26) in the Pacific Division with 18 to play. As usual, the spark came from Nash. He was 5-for-5 for 14 points and four assists in the first quarter, and he runs a team that has scored 255 points in its last two games. "He's definitely the Most Valuable Player," the Clippers' Corey Maggette said. "He takes control of his team, puts them in great positions to make shots and he's been doing that the whole time. Every time he does that, they get great looks." Nuggets 101, Pacers 99 At Indianapolis, Carmelo Anthony hit an 18-foot fadeaway to break a tie with 2.2 seconds left as the Nuggets improved to 4-1 on their season-high seven-game road trip. Mavericks 95, Rockets 81 At Houston, Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 11 rebounds, Jason Terry added 19 points, and Dallas inched a half-game ahead of idle San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference. The Mavs beat the Rockets for the 12th in 15 meetings despite 36 points and 12 rebounds from Yao Ming. Lakers 92, Timberwolves 89 At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 25 points, including a pair of layups in heavy traffic during the final 35 seconds, and the Lakers handed the Timberwolves their season-worst sixth straight defeat. Nets 78, Trail Blazers 65 At East Rutherford, N.J., Vince Carter scored 26 points, Richard Jefferson had 22, and New Jersey held Portland to a team record-low five points in the fourth quarter. Pistons 105, Raptors 98 At Toronto, Chauncey Billups had 26 points and 10 assists, and Tayshaun Prince added 21 points, and Detroit shot 10-for-14 from beyond the 3-point arc — a season-high 71 percent. Bucks 104, Bulls 88 At Milwaukee, Bobby Simmons scored 26 points, going 9-of-13 from the field, and Michael Redd added 23 as the Bucks got back to .500 for the first time since March 1. Wizards 107, Bobcats 99 At Washington, Gilbert Arenas scored 12 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and the Wizards swept a home-and-home series from Charlotte. Magic 114, Jazz 108, OT Jameer Nelson scored 25 points, four in overtime, and added nine assists in Orlando's third straight home win. -AP