Suns Strokes: Phoenix runs out of gas in loss to Miami Heat

Having to play five additional minutes the night before in L.A. — and losing in heartbreak fashion on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer — the question was an obvious one: Would the Phoenix Suns have anything left in the tank for a home game against the Miami Heat?

“We’re not going to bring it up and maybe they forget about it,” head coach Jeff Hornacek joked pregame.

This was no joke: Chris Bosh.

He scored a season-high 34 points on 14-of-21 shooting and added a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Heat past the Suns for the ninth straight time and seventh straight time at US Airways Center, 103-97.

The Heat snapped a four-game losing streak and handed the Suns their second loss in as many nights and third overall.

The Suns are now 1-5 in the second game of back-to-back sets.

After the Suns took a 91-90 lead on a Marcus Morris 3-pointer with 3:17 remaining in the game, Bosh went on a personal 7-0 run, giving the Heat a 97-91 lead with 1:49 to play — a deficit the Suns would not overcome. Bosh’s seven points came on a 14-foot jump shot, one-foot layup and 25-foot three-pointer.

Perhaps four games — in four different cities, by the way — in five nights finally caught up to the Suns, who turned it over a season-worst 23 times, including eight times in the fourth quarter when they were outscored 30-25.

All five Heat starters scored in double figures as Miami shot 53.8 percent, a season high for a Suns opponent.

In defeat, Marcus Morris had his best game of his career, scoring 25 points. He shot 10-of-13, including hitting 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Gerald Green added 19, Markieff Morris 17 and Goran Dragic 16.

Green has scored at least 15 points in five straight games, matching the second-longest streak of his career.

THE GOOD

With five points and four assists, Dragic had a hand in the Suns first 14 points of the game. He hit a 3-pointer and set up Markieff Morris’ one and only 3 of the game.

Alex Len blocked three shots in the first six minutes he was on the floor. The block party began with a rejection of Bosh and continued with a pair of swats of Mario Chalmers.

Tyler Ennis checked in with a minute remaining in the first quarter and the Suns trailing 26-20. He checked out of the game nearly six minutes later with two points and two assists during a 16-8 run to help the Suns retake the lead, 36-34.

Seven of the Suns’ nine made field goals in the fourth quarter were from beyond the 3-point line. Marcus Morris and Green each went 3-of-4 in the quarter, with Green hitting back-to-back 3s to give the Suns an 84-80 lead with 8:50 remaining. The Suns hit a season-high 17 3-pointers.

THE BAD

The Suns gave up runs of 9-0 and 11-4 in the first quarter.

The Suns made just two field goals in the last 5:49 of the second quarter but still went into the locker room with a 51-46 lead at halftime.

The Suns failed to exit the locker room to start the second half — or so it appeared, as the Heat went on a 13-2 run in the first four minutes of the third quarter. Bosh scored seven of his 14 third-quarter points during that stretch in which Heat went ahead, 59-53.

On his 25th birthday, Eric Bledsoe finished with three more turnovers (seven) than points (four) as he missed nine of his 11 field goal attempts, including all six of his attempts from beyond the arc. The seven turnovers were his most since he committed the same amount in a win against Brooklyn on Nov. 12.

STAT OF THE GAME

7: The number of Suns fast break points, which was a season-low for a team that had been averaging 26.3 fast break points in the previous four games

HE SAID IT

“We were just a step slow, whether it was the fourth game in five nights, we weren’t thinking straight especially in the fourth quarter. They cut hard. They put pressure on, and when they cut we were a step late and they were making good passes.” -Hornacek

NOTED

Marcus Morris declined to speak to reporters after the game.

For the first time in team history and just the eighth time in NBA history, the Suns recorded at least 16 3-pointers in back-to-back games.

Isaiah Thomas missed his eighth straight game with a bruised right ankle. “He said it feels just about there, so I’m guessing Friday he’ll play,” Hornacek said.

UP NEXT

The Suns host the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

It will be the second of two meetings between the teams. The Suns won the first matchup 88-86 in Detroit, as Bledsoe scored the go-ahead basket with just under 30 seconds to play.

The Suns have won nine of the last 12 meetings in the series, including six straight at US Airways Center.

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