|
 Tucker scored 10 of his 12 points and grabbed seven of his 10
rebounds in the final quarter, a big reason the Suns were able to
avoid a collapse and post a 106-98 win over the Washington Wizards.
The Suns (27-20) gave back almost all of a 22-point, second-quarter
lead, then coughed up all but four points of an 18-point lead in the
fourth quarter before Tucker took over. He helped Phoenix sweep the
season series from the Wizards for the sixth time in eight seasons.
"Late in games, he really gets tuned in, and that's where teams
really tend to focus on our other guys," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek
said. "He drilled a couple of (3-pointers) to extend the lead back
out there, and then P.J. does what he usually does -- get big
rebounds at the end of games."
Suns guard Goran Dragic had 20 points, and guard Isaiah Thomas
scored 18. Forward Markieff Morris added 16, including a 15-footer
with 23.5 seconds left to seal the win.
 "It comes down to the little plays," Tucker said. "You see them make
their run, you knew it was going to happen. You have to get the
rebounds, make the free throws and come up with big plays. We lost a
game in San Antonio (on Jan. 9) just like that, and I said, 'We
can't let that happen, especially after losing two in a row at
home.' We have to close people out when we get up."
Reserve forward Otto Porter Jr. had all 14 of his points in the
second half for the Wizards, who were playing for the fourth time in
five nights and were without forward Nene (sore right foot). Center
Marcin Gortat had 14 points, guard Bradley Beal had 13, and forward
Kris Humphries finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Washington guard John Wall struggled for the second time in two
games, scoring 11 points on 5-for-16 shooting while playing against
his former college teammate at Kentucky, Phoenix guard Eric Bledsoe.
"It was a rough night for me not making shots and getting guys
involved," said Wall, who committed five turnovers. "Give a lot of
credit to our second unit for attacking and giving us a chance to
win the game.
Washington (31-16) fell to 6-15 when allowing an opponent to score
100 or more points this season. The Wizards are 25-1 when holding
their foe to double digits.
"We couldn't really keep up with them," Gortat said. "Four games in
five nights and playing teams like Denver and (the Los Angeles
Lakers) that are pretty fast, so it was tough. I'm not looking for
excuses, but we definitely didn't have the same energy we usually
do.
On a night when Western playoff contenders Portland, Dallas,
Oklahoma City and New Orleans all lost, the Suns gained some
precious ground, but they had to work for it.
"I feel like I'm a broken record. I don't know what to say anymore,"
Dragic said about Phoenix's penchant for blowing big leads. "We
played well, we followed the plan to run as much as possible, and we
built the lead to 20 points before they come back and the game is
prolonged. I'm happy with the win, but we have to keep it from
happening again."
[to top of second column] |
The game had 10 lead changes in the opening seven minutes before
the Suns closed the first quarter on a 14-1 run. Markieff Morris
scored eight straight points and Bledsoe, forward Marcus Morris and
Thomas all had 3-pointers in the final 2:35 to push Phoenix's lead
to 29-17.
Forward Brandan Wright picked up the scoring with nine of his 13
points in seven minutes to open the second period -- all on layups
and dunks. His jam off a Markieff Morris feed gave the Suns a 49-27
lead with 5:09 left in the half.
The Wizards rallied to shave the deficit to 56-39 at intermission
and began the third quarter on an 18-6 run to pull within 62-57 on a
layup by forward Paul Pierce with 6:39 left.
The Suns were able to stabilize with a three-point play by Bledsoe
and back-to-back 3-pointers from Thomas and Marcus Morris. A Dragic
fastbreak layup with 30.6 seconds left restored the lead to 14 after
three quarters, and Phoenix pushed the margin back to 18 on two
Tucker 3-pointers and two Thomas free throws with 10:52 left in the
game.
Washington wouldn't go away, though. Center Kevin Seraphin had seven
points during a 17-3 run, and a layup by guard Garrett Temple with
6:58 remaining cut the Suns' advantage to 91-87.
The Wizards never got any closer. Tucker hit two free throws and a
driving hook shot, and he added six rebounds in the final 5:17 to
finish off the game.
NOTES: Wizards F Paul Pierce returned to the lineup after missing
Tuesday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers with a sore left toe.
Pierce is 21 points shy of tying Alex English (25,613) for 15th on
the NBA's all-time scoring list. ... Suns G Isaiah Thomas scored 20
or more points off the bench in his previous four games, averaging
24.5 points in that span. He scored 18 points Wednesday. The last
Suns player with a five-game run of 20 points off the bench was
Eddie Johnson in March 1989. ... Before Wednesday's action, the Suns
had the third-best record in the NBA since Dec. 17 (14-6), trailing
only Atlanta (20-1) and Golden State (15-4).
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
