Suns Strokes: Booker injury, fourth quarter woes doom Suns

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns don’t play hockey. They play basketball. And in basketball, the game is four quarters long.

On Sunday, the Suns played only three.

For three quarters, the Suns were in complete control. And then the fourth quarter happened.

Outscored 29-16 in the final period, the Suns dropped a 115-110 decision to the Charlotte Hornets in front of announced crowd of 14,487 at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sunday Afternoon.

It didn’t help that the Suns played the last 6:26 without Devin Booker, who exited the game with a left hip pointer.

The Suns have now lost two straight, six-of-seven and 10 of their last 12.

Though it was certainly not headed in that direction.

Coming off a 32-point defeat just two days earlier, the Suns were playing well. They were making shots, hitting threes, and sharing the basketball and took a 21-point lead with 7:53 to play in the third quarter.

From there, the Hornets took over. Over the next 13 minutes, they outscored the Suns 49-18, including a 20-2 start to the fourth quarter, where the Suns had as many turnovers (seven) as field goals made.

Treveon Graham and Jeremy Lamb helped lead the comeback — the Hornets’ largest of the season — with eight fourth-quarter points. They each finished with 15 off the bench. Nicolas Batum (22 points), Dwight Howard (18) and Kemba Walker (18) also reached double figures in scoring.

Howard added 14 rebounds for his 34th double-double of the season.

The Hornets (23-29) won third straight, tying a season-high, despite shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from 3-point range. Credit a 26-6 edge on second-chance points; the result of the Hornets outrebounding the Suns 13-2 on the offensive end.

The Suns (18-36) lost despite their third-best shooting effort of the season (53.2 percent) and their best performance from beyond the arc (51.7; 15-of-29).

Josh Jackson scored a career-high 23 points, T.J. Warren added 21 with Dragan Bender and Booker both chipping in 18.

THE GOOD

For the second straight game, Bender got off to a quick start. He scored eight points in his first four-plus minutes on the floor, hitting a pair of 3s and a driving layup. However, it was Daniels with nine points on three 3s who led the Suns in scoring in the first quarter, one in which the home team shot 61.9 percent with 10 assists on 13 made field goals.

After briefly losing the lead midway through the second quarter, the Suns went on 15-3 run — Jackson and Warren accounted for all the scoring — to go up 56-45 at the 2:22 mark, which at the time was their biggest advantage of the game. Jackson had eight points (two 3s) and Warren seven. The pair combined for three rebounds as well.

Though he struggled with his shot, Booker did all the little things in the first half. His six assists were a game-high, while his five rebounds trailed only Tyson Chandler for the team lead. Booker was within triple-double range after just 17 minutes of playing time as he scored seven points despite missing five of eight field goal attempts.

Five of the Suns’ first seven made field goals in the third quarter were from 3-point range. Bender and Booker each hit two with Warren nailing a 26-foot attempt, just his 16th made 3 of the season. Bender’s second triple put the Suns ahead 78-57 at the 7:53 mark, at which time in the game the Suns had made 13-of-19 from 3-point range.

THE BAD

With a nine-point second-quarter lead, the Suns suddenly went cold. They missed seven consecutive shots, going nearly four minutes without a made field. They also turned the ball over once during what was a seven-possession stretch. Booker ended the scoring drought with a 20-foot step-back jump shot that put the Suns up three, 41-38, at the 5:44 mark.

At the 5:33 mark of the third quarter, Booker fouled Batum as Batum drove to the basket. It was a hard foul. Officials reviewed the play and ruled it a flagrant foul, penalty 1. Batum made the two free throws and Walker a 3-pointer so to became a five-point possession for the Hornets. Booker now has been assessed four flagrant fouls this season, the most in the NBA.

Held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting in the first half, Walker exploded for 13 third-quarter points. Of his four made field goals were a pair of 3s plus he went 3-of-4 from the foul line. Walker also had four assists so he accounted for 21 of the Hornets’ 38 points in the period, helping the visitors trim a 21-point deficit to eight (94-86) entering the fourth quarter.

Playing just his second game in two weeks, Alex Len was limited to 11 minutes. Blame the lack of court time on foul trouble. He committed two quick fouls in the first two minutes of the third quarter, his fourth and fifth of the game. Len, who finished with eight points and five rebounds, had missed two straight games and five of the last six due to right ankle soreness.

STAT OF THE GAME

.500/.500/1.000: For just the third time in franchise history, the Suns lost a game in which they shot at least 50 percent from the field (53.2), 50 percent from 3-point range (51.7) and 100 percent from the free throw line (13-of-13)

HE SAID IT

“Teams are going to make a run, you know that,” interim head coach Jay Triano said. “They have good guys, but I just thought the start of the fourth quarter, having an eight-point lead and turning the ball over the first three times gave them a chance. We can’t do that. We have to be better with the basketball, make better plays. Seven turnovers in the fourth quarter when it’s clutch time, good teams are going to ramp up their defense and you have to be prepared for it.”

NOTED

• Jackson became the fourth rookie in team history to score 20+ points in four straight games.

• Warren was hit with a technical foul — his eighth of the season — with 13.7 left in the second quarter.

• The Suns used their 18th different starting lineup with Booker-Jackson-Warren-Bender-Chandler.

• The Suns dropped to 3-10 all-time when playing on the same day as the Super Bowl.

• The Suns last played at home on Super Sunday on Jan. 15, 1978, beating the Cavaliers 113-104.

• Marquese Chriss was among the listed inactives; he violated a team rule and was not in the arena.

UP NEXT

A trip to L.A.

The Suns will play at the Lakers on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

This is the fourth and final meeting of the season.

The road team has won each of the previous three matchups with the Suns coming out victorious, 122-113, in their most recent visit to Staples Center on Nov. 17. Booker scored a game-high 33, including 22 points on 6-of-9 3-pointers in the first half.

Overall, the Suns have won 14 of the last 20 in the series.

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