PHOENIX -- Tom Chambers scored 60 points, a personal and team record, to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 121-95 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics Saturday night.
Chambers, in his ninth NBA season, made 22 of 32 field goals and 16 of 18 free throws in bettering his career high of 56 points set Feb. 18 at Golden State. That also was a Suns record.
Chambers also set a Veterans Memorial Coliseum record. The old record was 51 points set by Pete Maravich of New Orleans in 1977 and tied by Freeman Williams of San Diego in 1980.
Chambers' 22 field goals was a Phoenix record, two more than the previous mark set by Dick Van Arsdale in 1975.
His 35 points and 15 field goals in the first half also were Coliseum records.
'I got hot and it was a lot of fun,' said Chambers. 'I felt like I could make pretty much anything.'
The record-setting performance came against the team Chambers played with for five seasons before Phoenix signed him as a free agent in 1988.
Chambers said his old teammates 'were very supportive of me. They didn't want me to get there, but once I did they were nice about it.'
He credited Phoenix coach Cotton Fitzsimmons with leaving him in the game until he hit 60 with 3:53 remaining.
'Cotton told me when he brought me to Phoenix that he was going to make me a star,' Chambers said. 'He lets me do what I do best.'
Chambers had six of the Suns' first eight points as Phoenix got off to an 8-0 lead and never looked back.
The Suns led 29-22 at the end of the first quarter, 58-44 at halftime and 86-69 at the end of three quarters.
Rookie Kenny Battle, starting at guard in place of the injured Jeff Hornacek, had 15 points for Phoenix. The only other Sun in double figures was Eddie Johnson with 10.
Shawn Kemp came off the bench to lead Seattle with 16 points as the SuperSonics' leading scorers, Xavier McDaniel and Dale Ellis, had tough shooting nights.
McDaniel made 5 of 14 field goal attempts and finished with 12 points. Ellis made 2 of 14 and had eight points. Each is averaging more than 22 points a game.
Seattle did not score a field goal in the first 6:09 of the game, shot 26 percent the first quarter and 39 percent for the contest. Phoenix shot 59 percent.
Chambers became the 14th player in NBA history to score 60 points or more in a game. The 60 points was the second-highest in the league this season. Utah's Karl Malone scored 61 against Milwaukee on Jan. 27.
