Suns-Hornets Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Feb 06 2013 2:45AM

Wins have been tough to come by for the Phoenix Suns all season, but they're starting to play a bit better away from home.

After beating one of the top teams in the Western Conference on the road, Phoenix seems to be visiting the struggling New Orleans Hornets at the right time.

The Suns will try to put together rare back-to-back wins Wednesday night when they visit the skidding Hornets and likely get their first look at Eric Gordon since nearly landing the talented guard over the summer.

Despite coming into Memphis on Tuesday with a conference-low four road victories, Phoenix (17-32) won for the third time in six games away from home by beating the Grizzlies 96-90.

Marcin Gortat had a team-high 20 points while Goran Dragic had 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to key the Suns' 31-19 advantage in the final 12 minutes.

Phoenix had lost 17 of 22 overall after winning a season-best four straight games Dec. 12-19. The Suns have won back-to-back contests once since that streak, beating Sacramento and the Los Angeles Lakers Jan. 23-24.

They'll likely need another strong showing from their defense to do it again. While the Suns have lost eight in a row when allowing 100 points or more, they've won four straight when holding opponents under 100.

"We don't always shoot the ball well, but one thing we can control is how we defend, and that is something we really, really stress," said Suns interim coach Lindsey Hunter, who is now 4-4 since taking over for Alvin Gentry.

Dragic hasn't had trouble shooting in New Orleans. He's averaged 19.5 points and shot 7 for 12 from beyond the arc in his last two trips to New Orleans.

Those were both losses with Houston, but Dragic had 20 points and eight assists in the Suns' 111-108 overtime win against New Orleans on Nov. 23. One of those assists came on Markieff Morris' key 3-pointer in overtime, and he finished with a career-high 23 points as Phoenix rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit.

The Hornets (15-33) were without Anthony Davis and Gordon for that meeting, and Gordon has missed two of the last three games since he hasn't yet been cleared to play in back-to-backs as he recovers from knee surgery.

Gordon should play Wednesday, his first look at the team he hoped to wind up with over the summer. He agreed to a four-year, $58 million offer sheet with Phoenix, but New Orleans matched it despite Gordon saying he'd prefer it didn't - even after he missed all but nine games last season.

Though the Hornets are healthy for this meeting, their defense isn't. They've allowed 105.9 points per game over their last nine after Saturday's 115-86 loss at Minnesota.

"We've got to regroup, better ourselves and get back home and get a win and try to get out of this slump," guard Greivis Vasquez said.

Vazquez has particularly struggled lately, shooting 32.5 percent despite averaging 10.2 assists in his last six games. He had no problems against Dragic and the Suns in the first meeting, though, posting 25 points and 14 assists.

Neither did Ryan Anderson, who scored a career-high 34 points while hitting 8 of 13 3-pointers in that game. Anderson had averaged 19.6 points and shot 44.6 percent from long distance over his last seven games before being held to eight points at Minnesota.

Phoenix has won four straight in the series, including the last two in New Orleans by a combined 32 points.

Hornets beat Suns 93-84, end four-game skid

Posted Feb 06 2013 11:52PM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) After two days of what New Orleans Hornets coach Monty Williams labeled "training camp" style practices, the players appeared eager to return to the floor.

Perhaps that's because the game was easier than Williams' grueling sessions, which were designed to refocus the Hornets following four consecutive losses.

Apparently, the message was received.

Greivis Vasquez scored 19 points and Al-Farouq Aminu added 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead New Orleans to a 93-84 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.

Vasquez, who scored 15 points in the first half, was 8 of 9 from the field and had 12 assists in his 19th double-double of the season.

Ryan Anderson added 14 points and Robin Lopez 11 for the Hornets, who were making a rare appearance in New Orleans Arena. Because of the Super Bowl this past week, the Hornets were playing only their second home game in the past eight and fourth in the past 13.

"One of the primary focuses of the two practices on Monday and Tuesday was just our aggressiveness," Lopez said. "We want to make sure we went out there and beat up on each other, and it was nice to see some carry-over."

Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley each scored 14 points for the Suns, who came in off a win at Memphis on Tuesday night.

Goran Dragic added 13 points, and Luis Scola and Michael Beasley had 11 apiece for Phoenix. Jermaine O'Neal returned to the Suns' lineup and scored seven points to go along with three rebounds.

The Suns' perimeter-based offense struggled, as Phoenix as 35 of 78 from the field and 1 of 15 on 3-point attempts.

"Tough, tough loss for us," said Suns interim coach Lindsey Hunter, who is 4-5 after taking over for Alvin Gentry on Jan. 20. "Not many positives can be taken from the game tonight. Like I said, I am discouraged but I am still encouraged because I know where we are going to be and I know how we are going to do it."

The Hornets trailed 61-60 with 7:09 left in the third quarter, but with Lopez scoring four points on offensive rebounds off a pair of misses by Eric Gordon, the Hornets went on a 13-2 run to take a 73-63 lead. Lopez finished the quarter with seven points and Vasquez had five assists.

"I don't think I played different than any other game," said Vasquez, who had 12 assists and no turnovers for the first time in his career.

"Tonight was just one of those games that was perfect for me," he added. "If Kobe (Bryant) does it or (Steve) Nash or Chris Paul, they're the best. Me doing it, I'm nobody yet."

Phoenix trailed 78-71 after three quarters but cut the Hornets' lead to two midway through the fourth. Anderson's 3-pointer and a layup by Lopez quickly built the lead back to seven.

As he had in the second quarter, Williams sat his starters for the early part of the fourth quarter.

"When you have two rookies in the backcourt and a 21-year-old as a small forward, you don't have a lot of experience," Williams said. "I like the fact they weren't afraid and the same time we were getting stops, so it didn't hurt as bad, We were able to get our starters back in there and close it out."

Williams kept his starters on the bench for nearly half of the second quarter, but Phoenix was unable to build any separation against the Hornets reserves. The Suns' 27-26 first-quarter lead turned into a 37-35 deficit at the 7:31 mark of the second quarter when Gordon, Vasquez and Davis returned to the lineup.

New Orleans' bench outscored the Suns' bench 20-15 in the first half, but a 24-14 edge in rebounding kept Phoenix close.

The Suns scored 11 second-chance points and held New Orleans to zero. Scola and Dragic each scored 11 points in the first half.

Gordon was 3 of 14 from the field and finished with nine points.

"I am still not 100 percent," said Gordon, who sat out much of the early season with a knee injury. "I am battling through it."

NOTES - Aminu has record double-digit rebounds in 14 games this season. ... The Hornets are back on the road Friday, playing at Atlanta. ... New Orleans committed 13 turnovers after averaging 16.4 in the previous five games.

Notebook: Hornets 93, Suns 84

Scott Kushner, For NBA.com
Posted Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:18 AM - Updated Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:18 AM

THE FACTS: A pit stop at home proved to be exactly what the New Orleans Hornets needed to snap a four-game losing skid. In between a five-game road trip caused by New Orleans hosting the Super Bowl and a three game trip forced by the upcoming Mardi Gras festival season, the Hornets defeated the Phoenix Suns 93-84 Wednesday night in front of 12,148 people who welcomed them back to the New Orleans Arena.

Four different Hornets (16-33) players scored in double figures, and two notched double-doubles, led by Greivis Vasquez's game high 19 points and 12 assists, propelling New Orleans to just its second win in its past eight games. Phoenix (17-33) held a rebounding advantage throughout the game, but was beaten up in the paint, outscored 56-42 in the lane -- an important contributor to the Hornets' stellar 52 percent shooting. Several Hornets players credited a three-day break in the schedule and their return home for its renewed energy as New Orleans held the Suns to just 31 second-half points, who were less than 24 hours removed from a 96-90 win over the Grizzlies in Memphis.

QUOTABLE: "Our preparation going into this game was outstanding. It was one of the best we've had, mostly because coach [Monty Williams] was extremely upset at us. He was tough on everybody, and I like that. He was calling people out. And he made us step up and grow as men. I thought our last game against Minnesota, that wasn't us. We're better than that -- all of us. We showed it tonight."

-- Greivis Vasquez, on the Hornets positively responding from its three-day break following its four-game losing streak

THE STAT: The Suns scored just two points over a five minute stretch in the fourth quarter, after it had whittled the Hornets' double-digit lead down to 80-78 with 6:16 remaining. Poor shooting and scattered defense allowed New Orleans to jump out on a 13-2 run and put the game away.

TURNING POINT: Oddly, an identical run bit Phoenix in the previous quarter, as well. After the Suns answered a 6-0 Hornets' run with a 6-0 run of its own, Monty Williams immediately called a timeout. New Orleans then outscored Phoenix 13-2 over the next four minutes opening up a lead it would never relinquish.

HOT: Vasquez said he played one the most complete games of his career on Wednesday night, and the box score backed him up. The Hornets' point guard efficiently tallied 19 points, making eight of his nine shots (producing them all midway through the third quarter) and dished out 12 assists without surrendering a turnover. He also swiped four steals defensively.

NOT: Despite a series of open looks, Phoenix went just 1-for-15 on 3-point attempts (6.7 percent). Seven different Suns bricked shots from beyond the arc. Jared Dudley knocked down the only 3, but missed four others. The missed opportunities hamstrung the Suns' offense which converted 54 percent of its 2-pointers (34-for-65).

QUOTABLE II: "I think we just have such a totally different offense now, because we are throwing the ball down low and not doing much pick-and-roll, so we aren't getting the open looks we need to get. I know we're on a back-to-back, so I'm not sure if that's mental toughness or some other stuff but we need to make things happen on defense when we're shooting like that so we can get easier shots."

-- Jared Dudley on his team's struggles shooting from the perimeter

NOTABLE: The Hornets wore their commemorative purple, green and gold uniforms to celebrate the impending Mardi Gras holiday in New Orleans. It was the only home game the Hornets will wear them this season. ...After combining for just five points and eight rebounds in his past two games, Hornets' forward Al-Farouq Aminu pulled down 11 boards and scored 16 points against the Suns. ...Rookie point guard Kendall Marshall continued to see an increased role off of the bench, logging 20 minutes and scoring six points. ...Hornets' rookie Anthony Davis pulled down just one rebound in nearly 20 minutes.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Friday @ Atlanta, Sunday @ Toronto, Monday @ Detroit. For the Suns, Friday @ Oklahoma City, Sunday vs. Oklahoma City, Tuesday @ Lakers.

• Suns: Frye, Garrett
• Hornets: --

• Suns: --
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 21
• Times Tied: 11

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #45 Brian Forte, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 12148
• Duration: 2:10