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 The goal was to have fun and release some of the pressure in the
locker room. Turned out, the idea was right up their alley.
The Suns responded with a season-high 19 3-pointers, including five
by forward Mirza Teletovic, and Phoenix snapped the nine-game losing
streak with a 111-102 win over the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday.
With leading scorer Eric Bledsoe gone for the season, the Suns had
six players in double figures, five with at least three 3-pointers,
and dished out 25 assists to beat the Hornets by committee.
"I think going bowling was big. Guys were energized and we were all
over the place," said forward P.J. Tucker, who shook off a right
thigh contusion suffered in the third quarter to hit a big 3-pointer
with 54.2 seconds left to halt a late Charlotte rally. "I don't
think our woes are all about X's and O's. It's more about coming
together and being a team, especially with Eric being out. We need
everyone to be part of it and get back to having fun."
Guard Brandon Knight added 18 points for the Suns (13-25), who hit
19 of 33 3-pointers (57.6 percent) and won for the first time since
beating the New Orleans Pelicans here on Dec. 18. Rookie guard Devin
Booker had his first NBA double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) and
rookie guard T.J. Warren also added 17 for the Suns.
Forward Jon Leuer had 14 and Tucker added 10 for the Suns, who got
53 points from their bench to secure the 100th NBA coaching win for
Hornacek.
"I told Jeff the whole thing might have been about him being stuck
in 99 (wins)," Tucker said. "Now that he's got 100, we can get it
going a little bit."
Guard Kemba Walker had a game-high 25 points for the Hornets
(17-18), who lost their fifth straight game, their longest losing
streak of the season. Charlotte is under .500 for the first time
since Nov. 17.
"They had 53 points off the bench and those guys hit 11 threes. We
changed coverage time after time and it didn't matter," Charlotte
coach Steve Clifford said. "Right now, we've got to have some guys
that make the coverage work. Guys have to go out and do what they're
told to do."
Down 85-80 in the final seconds of the third quarter, the Suns
reeled off 13 straight points, including eight straight from
Teletovic, to take the lead for good. They pushed the lead to 11 at
102-91 after Teletovic's fifth 3-pointer with 6:48 left.
But the Hornets rallied and inched within 106-102 on an 8-footer by
forward Marvin Williams with 2:02 to go. Walker had a chance to get
Charlotte closer but missed a layup with 1:15 left and Tucker sealed
the win on Phoenix's 19th and final 3-pointer.
"There were just too many errors on the defensive end. That hurt us
all game," said Walker, who hit the 25-point mark for the fourth
time in the last seven games. "We cut down on our mistakes, held
them to one shot and got in the right position (down the stretch).
It worked for us and then we kind of went away from that."
Williams and guard Jeremy Lin had 15 points apiece, and guard Troy
Daniels and forward Cody Zeller each had 13 for the Hornets, who
have lost seven of the last eight against Phoenix.
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Hornacek became the eighth coach in Suns history to reach 100 wins,
joining John MacLeod, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Paul Westphal, Danny
Ainge, Scott Skiles, Mike D'Antoni and Alvin Gentry.
"It's been a rough stretch," Hornacek said. "I'm just proud of the
guys. They kept battling and they shot the ball with confidence.
When you shoot 19-for-33 from the 3-point line, obviously that's a
good start for getting your confidence back."
The Suns hit eight of their first nine shots to open the game, and
then missed six shots in a row while the Hornets took the lead with
a 7-0 run. Walker tied the game with a 3-pointer and Lin made it
24-20 Hornets with another 3-pointer with 3:23 left. Both teams had
five 3-pointers in the quarter.
Phoenix closed with 11 points in the final 2:32 and took a 34-32
lead on a Warren jumper to end the quarter.
Phoenix kept the momentum going in the second period, holding the
Hornets to just four points in the first seven minutes and opening a
13-point lead at 52-39 on a turnaround jumper by Leuer, who had 13
points on 5-of-7 shooting in the half.
The Hornets trailed by eight points at halftime but controlled the
third quarter, taking the lead with a 12-2 run late. Walker followed
a Daniels 3-pointer with a 12-footer to give Charlotte an 85-80 lead
before Teletovic sparked the Suns for their big run.
NOTES: The Suns started veteran PG Ronnie Price in place of Devin
Booker, allowing Brandon Knight to start the game at shooting guard.
... The Hornets played without F Nicolas Batum (toe sprain) and C Al
Jefferson (knee), but nicked-up G Jeremy Lamb (wrist/hip) and G
Jeremy Lin (ankle) were OK to play. ... Despite Phoenix's nine-game
losing streak entering the game, Charlotte coach Steve Clifford
didn't think his team was catching the Suns at the right time. "I
actually would rather play teams coming off wins," he said. "These
are all good players, great players, and prideful guys. You're going
to get their best when they've lost a couple in a row, and that goes
both ways for them with us." ... Suns coach Jeff Hornacek took his
struggling team to a bowling alley across the street from Talking
Stick Arena after practice for a team-building session on Tuesday.
"We tried to get their minds off basketball a little bit," he said.
"I thought they had a good time. They were high-fiving each other
after strikes and stuff like that. So maybe it carries over."
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