PHILADELPHIA — Steve Nash heard the whispers in the offseason.

He chose to ignore them.

Opting to re-sign with the Phoenix Suns sure looks to have been the right decision for the All-Star point guard.

Jason Richardson scored 29 points, Nash added 21 points and tied his season-high with 20 assists and the Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 119-115, last night.

"I was a free agent and it was natural to explore my options," Nash said. "Some people said I was a little crazy going back to Phoenix because I wouldn't have as good a chance to win. I liked the team and coaches and I was comfortable."

Was he ever.

Nash registered the first 20-20 in points and assists in the league since he accomplished the feat in 2005-06 — a 28-point, 22-assist performance Jan. 2, 2006, at New York. Those 22 assists still represent a career high.

The Suns eclipsed the 100-point barrier for the eighth straight game to open a season, which hadn't happened since the 1990-91 season.

Jared Dudley contributed 18, Amare Stoudemire added 17, Grant Hill had 11 and Channing Frye 10 for the high-flying Suns, who entered the game averaging a league-high 109.7 points per game.

Andre Iguodala scored 24 points, Marreese Speights added 20, Thaddeus Young had 15 and Lou Williams 13 for the Sixers (3-4).

Nash, who signed a two-year, $22 million extension in the summer, turned in another impressive performance after putting up 11 points and 17 assists in Sunday's 102-90 win at Washington.

Nash sparked the Suns with nine points in the third quarter as they outscored Philadelphia 30-20 to get within 86-84.

With the score tied at 106, Dudley grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. The Suns then scored five of the next seven points as Richardson converted a three-point play and added a layup both on assists from Nash — to take a 113-108 lead with 1:38 left and seal the game.

Warriors 146, Timberwolves 105: Kelenna Azubuike scored a season-high 31 points and Anthony Randolph added 23 to help host Golden State rout Minnesota. Stephen Jackson, whose agent publicly criticized Golden State coach Don Nelson a day earlier, had 10 points and a career-high 15 assists while Monte Ellis had 18 points with 10 rebounds to lead the Warriors to their most lopsided win in more than a year.

Jazz 95, Knicks 93: Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko each scored 23 points, and Utah won in New York for the first time in more than five years. Mehmet Okur had the go-ahead basket with 1:16 to play and finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who opened a difficult four-game road trip by winning at Madison Square Garden for the first time since Feb. 20, 2004.

Spurs 131, Raptors 124: Manu Ginobili scored 36 points without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in the lineup and host San Antonio beat Toronto. Ginobili hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Duncan and Parker sat out with ankle injuries and are listed as day-to-day. Richard Jefferson had 24 and George Hill added 22 for San Antonio.

Hornets 112, Clippers 84: Chris Paul had 24 points and 10 assists on a sore ankle, Devin Brown scored 25 points and visiting New Orleans beat Los Angeles. David West added 17 points and nine rebounds for New Orleans.