Suns Strokes: Phoenix falters late against Orlando

Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a basketball game. So, we will give you Suns Strokes, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from the Suns’ 98-90 loss to the Magic on December 9.

The Good:

Shannon Brown scored 10 of his team-high 17 points during a 19-4 run midway through the third quarter that saw the Suns take a 67-61 lead with 4:16 remaining in the quarter. Brown extended his season-best streak to six consecutive double-digit scoring efforts.

Jared Dudley, meanwhile, reached double figures in scoring for the fifth time in his last six games.

The Bad:

The Suns seven-game losing streak is the team’s longest since 2003-04, the season before Steve Nash returned. As a result, head coach Alvin Gentry canceled the team’s off day Monday. He’ll have his club practice, a rarity following back-to-back games.

The Suns allowed a Magic team that was 28th in the league in scoring (91.8 points per game) and 20th in shooting (32.6%) to light up the scoreboard for 98 points on a season-best 51.9% shooting.

He Said It

“We played well for maybe three quarters and then we stopped,” Marcin Gortat said. “We didn’t compete. We didn’t play hard enough. We are not playing tough enough.”

Noted:

• Goran Dragic (sick) and PJ Tucker (knee sprain) did not play.

• Suns fell to 0-5 on the second night of a back-to-back this season.

• Suns in their last two games have allowed better than 60 percent shooting in the fourth quarter (63.6 percent by Clippers and 64.7 percent by Magic) while getting outscored by a combined 23 points.

Up Next:

The Suns (7-15) host Memphis (14-4) on Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. MST