PHOENIX - They say it's better to be lucky than good. Well, last night, the Nets were lucky. And good. But Devin Harris was great.

After directing the Nets to unlikely wins in Sacramento and Utah, Harris was enormous in making it three straight. His saga continued as he took apart yet another top tier point guard, this time forcing the Suns to take Steve Nash off the Nets' rising star defensively.

Didn't matter. Harris scored a career-high 47 points, 21 of them coming in the fourth quarter, as the Nets improbably ended their Thanksgiving week Western trip at 3-1 with a 117-109 victory over the Suns, ending their 14-game losing streak here.

"We took that first punch they came out with," Harris, who was 17-of-17 at the line, said of the Nets' sluggish start as the Suns jumped to a 35-24 lead after one quarter. "But we fought back and we were able to fight them off."

Harris, Vince Carter (28 points), Brook Lopez (12 points, seven rebounds) were throwing the key haymakers in the stretch. But the slop-riddled Suns did their share to help. The Nets scored 33 points off 22 turnovers.

Amare Stoudemire (25 points, 12 rebounds) was ejected with his second technical of the game with 3:24 left. The Nets (9-7) outscored the Suns, 19-9 from there.

"The rule states that I'm allowed to react so long as I don't continue the verbal toward the official," said Stoudemire, bounced by ref Bill Kennedy after griping about a traveling call.

Stoudemire had jawed with Trenton Hassell, who was huge defensively - yes, the Nets played defense - down the stretch. Hassell objected to Stoudemire's handling of Harris with 8:36 left and a double T ensued. The next one was lethal to the Suns' cause.

But not nearly as deadly as Harris, who continued his recent rampage. One night after abusing Olympian Deron Williams, Harris shot 14 of 25 from the floor and seemingly scored at will down the stretch.

"Just in attack mode . . . I'm just taking what the defense is giving me. All of them are good shots [and] when you get a rhythm early, and attack, it sets up the rest of the game," said Harris who has averaged 29.2 points in his last 10 games, scoring 30 in six - the only 30 games of his career.

"Obviously, you can't say enough about the effort of Devin. He was phenomenal just willing us," said coach Lawrence Frank, whose team boasts the NBA's highest scoring starting backcourt, averaging 49.1 ppg.

The Nets, who trailed by 13 at one point, were down 102-99 after when Matt Barnes - and he drew the luckless task of covering Harris for 26-point-scorer Nash, scored. Carter tied it with a 3-pointer and then the Nets forced four straight stops.

At the other end, Harris hit a step back jumper at 2:26, Lopez scored a follow dunk, Harris and Lopez made two free throws each. It was 110-102 with 39.7 seconds remaining. The Nets never quit.

"That's what it is, compete for 48 minutes," said Carter. "You never know what happens."

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Nets were without Keyon Dooling ( head cold). Jarvis Hayes was hampered by a sore right shoulder . . . Sean Williams did a nice defensive job in early fourth on Stoudemire . . . Josh Boone is due to get an MRI exam on left ankle today.

Brook Lopez got to catch up with twin brother Robin. "I saw him at his place yesterday. His place is much more spacious than mine, of course, and a lot cheaper. So that makes me kind of angry."