By NOEY KUPCHANPosted Feb 28 2015 2:14AM
The Phoenix Suns had difficulty adjusting after trading away two of their top scorers, but they appear to be back on track thanks in large part to Eric Bledsoe.
The San Antonio Spurs are also hoping to have put their recent woes behind them.
Phoenix goes for a third consecutive victory Saturday night against the Spurs, who try to make it two in a row as they close their annual rodeo road trip.
The Suns (31-28) recently dropped eight of nine, including their first three after shipping Goran Dragic to Miami and Isaiah Thomas to Boston. The duo was averaging a combined 31.4 points, leaving Phoenix without a good chunk of its offense.
The Suns, however, appear to have figured things out with back-to-back wins, 110-96 at Denver on Wednesday and 117-113 in overtime over Oklahoma City on Thursday. Bledsoe led the charge with 28 points, nine assists and career highs of 13 rebounds and four blocks against the Thunder.
"I just tried to show a little more enthusiasm," Bledsoe said. "My teammates, they feed off of that. That's what my coaches have been telling me, that's what my team has been telling me, just step up and that's what I'm trying to do."
Bledsoe is averaging 22.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists over the last three games. He's one of just four players averaging at least 17.0 points, 5.0 boards and 6.0 assists on the season.
"I just want to win, and win as a team," he said. "It's not about one person, but at the end of the day, I do feel like I've got a bigger load to handle now."
The Spurs (35-23) had dropped each of their four games since the break by an average of 10.0 points before beating Sacramento 107-96 on Friday. Tony Parker scored 19 points and Kawhi Leonard added 17 as San Antonio improved to 3-5 on its nine-game trek.
Parker had been limited to a combined nine points while shooting 3 of 21 over the previous three games before finding his form. The Spurs have won 18 of their last 20 when he scores at least 12.
"That was huge for us. That was huge for him," teammate Tim Duncan said of Parker. "I know he's been really hard on himself over these last couple games and really struggling, and hopefully that builds the confidence he needs and that we need him to have."
The Spurs shot just 39.8 percent but made a season-high 29 of 32 at the foul line.
San Antonio is 13-4 against the Suns since 2010-11, but it's been limited to 87.0 points per game in dropping its last two visits to Phoenix. The Spurs fell 94-89 in the desert Oct. 31 before pulling out a 100-95 home victory Jan. 9 behind 20 points from Danny Green.
Suns forward Markieff Morris had averaged 19.2 points on 62.3 percent shooting over a five-game stretch in the series before scoring three on 1-of-13 shooting in last month's defeat.
San Antonio is 15-16 on the road after finishing a league-best 30-11 last season.
The Spurs are averaging 97.3 points as the visiting team compared to 104.3 at home, and that could be a problem against the Suns, who average 107.7 on their own court to rank second in the NBA.