117
126
Even with an elbow swollen to the size of a softball, Goran Dragic looked like an All-Star.
"Especially with an elbow..." might be more accurate. The Suns point guard suffered an awkward fall after being fouled by Larry Sanders in the paint. By the time he came out of the subsequent timeout, his elbow had already swollen noticeably.
He responded by scoring 10 straight, including back-to-back three-pointers to send the Suns to a 126-117 win at Milwaukee.
The performance was the latest in a series of unintentional but undeniable All-Star-worthy statements. This one was perhaps most impressive of all. Dragic scored 30 points, but did so on 9-of-13 shooting in just 24 minutes of play.
Gerald Green added 23 and the Morris twins combined for 29 points off the bench as the Suns eclipsed their previous season-high in points by two.
The Bucks repeatedly cut Phoenix's lead to single digits, but each time the Suns were able to respond behind a different cast of players. All 10 that played logged over 20 minutes in the game. Only Green logged as many as 30.
When Dragic checked out for the final minutes, his arm immediately received a large wrap of ice. His status will likely be monitored heading into tomorrow night's game against the league-best Pacers. That game will mark the last of a four-game road trip for the Suns.
TURNING POINT
Suns Head Coach Jeff Hornacek began the fourth quarter with an all-bench unit of the Morris twins, Leandro Barbosa, Ish Smith and Alex Len. Milwaukee opened the period with a Larry Sanders bucket to cut the lead to five.
Instead of allowing Milwaukee to turn the game into a single-possession affair, the Suns reserves responded behind the backup big men. Markieff Morris scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter, and Len added five consecutive points on an and-one dunk in traffic and a putback slam off a Morris miss.
The 7-foot-1 rookie played the entire fourth quarter, finishing with a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with seven points and a block.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
PLAYER OF THE GAME
For yet another game, the Suns looked like a team with at least two All-Star weekend contestants.
The only thing that can be said about Goran Dragic about this point will have to wait until at least tomorrow night, when we find out whether or not he's got an All-Star ticket to New Orleans.
And although the votes were already cast, the Slovenian point guard played like he was still auditioning for the honor: 24 minutes, 30 points, 9-of-13 shooting, six assists, four rebounds and one steal.
PHOTO OF THE NIGHT
STAT(S) OF THE NIGHT
3 - the number of games the Suns have scored at least 124 points over the last eight days.