Losing has become a way of life for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves lost their 15th consecutive game on Friday night when Jason Richardson scored 22 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 120-95 victory.
Steve Nash had nine points and 11 assists and Grant Hill had 17 points and five assists for the Suns, who have the best record in the NBA at 13-3.
Ramon Sessions had 23 points and Jonny Flynn had 18 points and six assists for the Timberwolves, who are one loss away from tying the franchise record of 16 defeats in a row.
The Timberwolves gave a pair of black, thick-rimmed glasses to the first 5,000 fans at Target Center on Friday night in homage to the look new coach Kurt Rambis sported back in his playing days with the Lakers. The fashion faux pas became a symbol for grit and hustle in Tinseltown, endearing Rambis to the image-conscious Lakers fans during their title runs of the Showtime era.
Rambis has been trying to instill the same kind of heart and passion into these young Timberwolves, but they have been far too inconsistent for most of this season.
The Wolves showed little fight on Friday night, shooting 36 percent against the defense-averse Suns in the first three quarters and falling behind by 32 points midway through the third.
Now the Wolves are looking at the past too, only not in a good way. The 1991-92 team set the franchise's bar for futility with 16 straight losses, and the Wolves would tie that with a loss at division-leading Denver on Sunday.
Minnesota got Amare Stoudemire and Channing Frye in foul trouble in the first half but was unable to take advantage. Robin Lopez, playing in his first game of the season after having foot surgery in October, filled in with eight points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes.
Nash, who is averaging a career-high 11.8 assists at 35 years old, ran circles around the younger Wolves in three quarters. He threaded a pass through Ryan Hollins' legs to a cutting Lopez for a layup in the first quarter and had Flynn dazed and confused while he tried to figure out Nash's next move on the offensive end.
