PHOENIX — Just as Josh Howard seemed to be regaining his groove, the Dallas Mavericks might have to get used to life without him again.

He sustained a wrist injury and the Mavs suffered a 128-100 defeat Friday night to the Phoenix Suns.

The forward left the game wincing with 9:43 left in the third quarter after falling hard on his left wrist, aggravating a sprain from earlier in the season that forced him out of two games.

The Suns had opened some daylight by then and the only good news the remainder of the night was that Howard's X-rays were negative, although he said he's eager to get home for a more thorough examination.

"Unfortunately, we're on a road trip so we won't be able to get back home for our X-ray machine, but we'll see how it goes," Howard said. "Of course, it hurts like hell. I'll have to keep it up above my heart so it won't hurt as much.

"But, got to keep moving, got to keep these guys going. It was a tough loss for us. I wish I could have stayed out there."

Howard led the Mavs with 16 points and three assists when he left. Battling for a high rebound, Suns forward Amare Stoudemire came from behind Howard and over the top. He attempted to swipe the ball with his right arm from Howard's grasp, which Howard said knocked him off-balance.

Trying to brace his fall, Howard's left wrist buckled and instantly sent him grimacing in pain on the floor. Howard was helped off the court bent over and clutching his left arm to his chest.

The Suns led 72-63 at the time, but it quickly spun out of control from there with Shaquille O'Neal (25 points, 10 rebounds) and the Suns annihilating the Mavs on 62.7 percent shooting, mostly because they scored 68 points in the paint.

"You give up 70 points in the paint, which is a joke," Dirk Nowitzki said. "You give Shaq eight dribbles, that's just embarrassing out there."

Before Howard could get to a TV after getting X-rays, the Suns had blown it open by 27 points.

"When I caught wind of it, they were like on a 12-0 run," Howard said. "Once I got back in here (the locker room) and started icing it and watching it, we didn't look like ourselves. It was a tough one, but we get the opportunity to play them again."

Howard didn't seem encouraged about his chances of playing Sunday at Sacramento. He reiterated his anxiousness to get back home and into a hospital with more sophisticated equipment than at the arena.

"You always want to go back home. These X-ray machines here at the gym are not like what they are when you're at the main hospital facilities," Howard said. "Of course, I've had injuries on this wrist before, so you never know if they're looking at old stuff or new stuff."

A season-high 40-point third quarter provided a 25-point lead after three quarters for the Suns, who put together their highest point total of the season.

"The third quarter was a demolition is what it was," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said, particularly annoyed at the Suns' 68-18 advantage in points in the paint. "They played great. There are some nights when we get a little outquicked, but we got outworked. They fought hard and we didn't fight hard enough, simple as that."

Playing the backside of a back-to-back, the Mavs lost a chance to move 10 games over .500 for the first time this season. Instead they endured another 20-something loss, their second in four games.

Steve Nash (nine points) dished out 12 assists, some helping O'Neal on his big scoring night, some aiding Jason Richardson's 21 points and some going toward Amare Stoudemire's 16 points.

Leandro Barbosa scored 20 points off the bench. In the battle of sixth men, it wasn't close. Jason Terry's shooting struggles continued for a third game. He went 3-of-11 for 11 points.

Nowitzki finished with 19 points, and Jason Kidd, red-hot in the first half, finished with 15 points and seven assists. Gerald Green got some garbage time and scored 13 points in less than nine minutes.

But, the Mavs lost this one on the hustle side. The Suns outrebounded Dallas 43-32, won the fastbreak points 16-2 and were unstoppable inside.