Suns Strokes: Phoenix’s second unit closes out struggling Hornets

It had been more than two weeks since the Phoenix Suns last played at home.

How much did they miss Talking Stick Resort Arena?

Well, four players reached double-digits in scoring and the Suns made 62.5 percent of their field goal attempts. And that was just the first half.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Suns had placed six players in double figures and set a season-high with 59.7-percent shooting in a 120-103 win over the Charlotte Hornets in front of 16,572.

Not a bad way to open a five-game homestand.

The victory, by the way, snapped a three-game losing streak.

There were contributions up and down the Suns’ (19-42) roster.

Marquese Chriss led the way with 17 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, all this despite hurting his left calf just three minutes into the game. The injury forced him to the locker room for treatment.

Leandro Barbosa, T.J. Warren and Alan Williams each scored 16, while Devin Booker added 15 and Eric Bledsoe 14.

Williams had 12 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season.

The Suns led by as many as 19 points and never trailed after the nine-minute mark of the third quarter.

Kemba Walker’s 26 points and Marvin Williams’ 19 paced the Hornets (26-35), who were held to 39.3 percent shooting from the field in losing for the second time in three games.

THE GOOD

Of the Suns’ 28 first-quarter points, Booker had a hand in just over half with four points and five assists. He set up Bledsoe for a 3-pointer, jump shots by Williams and Jared Dudley, plus layups by Williams and Derrick Jones, Jr. Bledsoe, by the way, scored a team-high seven points on 2-of-3 shooting and a pair of free throws.

Down eight midway through the second quarter, the Suns went on a 10-0 run to retake the lead. Bledsoe and Barbosa each had and-1s with Booker and Barbosa hitting layups, the latter of which put the Suns in front, 52-50, at the 3:22 mark. Barbosa scored a team-high 10 points in the period on 4-of-7 shooting, including a 3-pointer.

It began with a pair of Chriss free throws and ended with a Chriss dunk. In-between, Alex Len scored five points, Warren four and Chriss added a 3-pointer. Add it all up and the Suns had gone on a 16-3 run to retake the lead, 85-73, at the 6:04 mark of the third quarter. Warren scored a team-high 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Not a single starter played in the fourth quarter. Williams’ seven points led the way. Derrick Jones, Jr. provided the highlights with a pair of alley-oop slams courtesy Tyler Ulis, who had six of his career-high eight assists in the period. Ulis’ assists were bested only by Booker’s nine, a new season-high for him.

THE BAD

Turnovers proved costly for the Suns in the first quarter. They committed five leading to 11 Hornets points. Three of those turnovers were converted into 3-pointers with Walker, Williams and Nicolas Batum hitting from beyond the arc during a 13-2 run that made it 20-11 Charlotte at the 6:12 mark. Williams had 13 points in nine first-quarter minutes.

It was hard to stop Walker in the second quarter. He attacked the basket with three layups, including an and-1, and nailed a 25-foot 3-pointer, the latter of which made it 50-42 Charlotte at the 5:32 mark. Walker also had an assist, meaning he accounted for 13 of the Hornets’ 26 points in the period. His 18 first-half points (7-of-14 FGs) led all scorers.

Credit Frank Kaminsky for keeping the Hornets in the game. His 10 third-quarter points were a team-best. He made a pair of 3-pointers, the latter of which came during a 12-2 spurt that pulled the visitors to within a single possession, 87-85, at the 2:53 mark. Kaminsky shot 4-of-6 in the period with a steal.

Down three entering the fourth quarter, the Hornets, on their sixth stop of a seven-stop road trip, simply ran out of gas. They missed 15-of-19 shot attempts (21.1 percent) and turned the ball over nine times. Their 12 total points established a new Suns opponent season-low, besting the 14 points by Indiana on Nov. 18.

STAT OF THE GAME

30: The Suns recorded 30 assists, two off their season-high. It was their fifth straight game with 22+ assists, their longest such streak since a five-game run from April 9-17, 2013.

HE SAID IT

“Our second unit played phenomenal,” head coach Earl Watson said. “Tyler Ulis changed the game. We talked about that backup point guard position and how you win in this league at the backup point guard position, and that’s picking up full court, that’s things that won’t show up in the box score, it’s nothing anyone would rave about except for coaches and general managers.”

NOTED

– Suns are now 12-9, including 8-4 at home, against the Eastern Conference.

– Suns extended their streak of shooting 48.0 percent or better to five games.

– Williams extended his career-long double-digit scoring streak to four games.

– Chriss started his 54th game, the most starts by a teenager in Suns history.

– Barbosa tied Mark West for ninth-most games played (543) in Suns history.

– Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight did not play for a fourth straight game.

UP NEXT

For the first time since the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, the Suns will play two home games in two days.

The rare home-home back-to-back concludes with the Suns hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, March 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Thunder have won six straight in the series, including the first two of four meetings this season.

Russell Westbrook scored 51 points on a Suns opponent record 44 field goal attempts in game one and had a triple-double with 22 assists in game two.

And a reminder at halftime, play-by-play voice Al McCoy, in this his 45th season, will become the 15th person inducted into the Suns Ring of Honor.

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