Washington, D.C--

On a day where it was unseasonably warm outside of the Verizon Center, it was the Suns that delivered a little of their own heat inside and it was one player and particular that really torched the Wizards, Steve Nash.  Just as he has done in many games against many teams, Nash found a way to run the offense in a way that confused the Wizards.   It was the assist total for Nash that made the box score notable.  His 11 points was small in comparison to the 17 assists doing what he does best to help this team win games.

"We just weren't really fresh today," point guard said Nash. "Maybe it was the first day game of the season. We really didn't have a great bounce to us, we didn't really push the ball, we weren't really aggressive to start. That was the difference.

"We had some chances to be up 15 or 20. We just didn't really have energy to us today, but mentally we were tough and stuck with it at times and got it done."

The Wizards who seemed to have some momentum going their way when then took a 45-39 lead with 6:05 remaining in the second quarter, but as soon as they gathered the lead they lost it as quick as they got it when the Suns Jared Dudley hit a three pointer giving the Suns a 56-51 lead going into the half.

Starting the third quarter the Suns picked up right where they left off with two quick baskets by Channing Frye and Grant Hill giving the Suns a 7 point lead at 60-53.   This was a lead the Wizards could find a way to cut into.

Washington had another subpar outing by Gilbert Arenas who was just 7 for 22 from the field with 20 points and 2 for 6 from long range. Something Wizards Head Coach Flip Saunders would like to see improved on sooner than later.

"It's been a never-ending thing here lately,” said Saunders. "We're struggling offensively, and that's putting a lot of undue pressure on the defense.

The Wizards are certainly feeling the absence of Mike Miller and Antawn Jamison, who hopefully will be ready next week to return to the line-up. The bench scored a total of 24 points, 20 of which came from Andray Blatche, who has been playing at the top of his game to start the season.