Amar'e Stoudemire received a standing ovation in his return to Phoenix as a member of the Knicks on Friday night.

The Knicks defeated the Suns 121-96 at the US Airways Center.

"It was great," Stoudemire said of the ovation. "It lets me know that the fans are still appreciative of the hard work I put on this court and the perseverance to injuries. It was a great ovation and I love the Phoenix fans forever."

Stoudemire had 19 points in the first half.

"I had one objective and that was to dominate from the start," he said. "That was my main goal was to dominate from the get-go. I got it going early. Then in the second half they went to a zone and my teammates got it going."