Suns Strokes: Jeff Green’s 3-point play lifts Grizzlies to victory in Phoenix

Another heartbreaker to the Memphis Grizzlies.

That’s seven straight losses to the Southwest Division leaders as the Phoenix Suns dropped a 102-101 decision in front of 17,199 at US Airways Center.

With the Suns leading 101-99 in the closing seconds and Memphis with the ball, Mike Conley missed a 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds remaining, but Jeff Green gathered the offensive rebound. He made a five-foot jumper and was fouled by Eric Bledsoe on the play. The free throw was good to put the Grizzlies ahead by the final margin.

The Suns had a chance to win it, but Markieff Morris’ elbow jumper was blocked by Marc Gasol, sending the Suns (28-22) to their second straight loss.

Conley’s 23 points led five Grizzlies in double figures, and Memphis (36-12) won its seventh straight game overall.

On his own bobblehead night, Isaiah Thomas paced the Suns with 24 points, all of which came in the second half. He scored 16 in the fourth quarter, including 13 during a 26-10 run to turn an 81-72 deficit into a 98-91 lead.

The Suns led by seven again at 101-94 after Thomas made a 3-pointer with 1:49 remaining, but the Grizzlies closed the game on an 8-0 run to sweep the series against the Suns for the second straight season.

With their second straight loss, the Suns’ hold on eighth place in the Western Conference is down to one game over the New Orleans Pelicans.

THE GOOD

Eric Bledsoe accounted for 15 of the Suns’ 23 first-quarter points. He scored six and dished out four assists, including setting up P.J. Tucker for one of his patented corner 3s. Bledsoe ended with 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

Bledsoe and Goran Dragic combined to score 25 points on 12-of-20 shooting in the first half. Dragic had seven of his 13 points in the second quarter in which he was 3-of-7, including 1-of-2 from 3. His fast-break layup at 6:39 capped a 9-0 run and pulled the Suns to within a single point, 33-32.

Markieff Morris did it on both ends of the floor in the first half. He scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting while limiting his power-forward counterpart Zach Randolph to just two points.

Brandan Wright made the most of his nine first-half minutes with six points on 3-of-4 shooting and four rebounds. He finished with 11 points, giving him his third double-digit scoring game as a Sun and 15th of the season.

After a scoreless first half, Thomas scored eight points in the third quarter, including a pair of and-1s. The first snapped a string of nine straight Suns misses and the second was part of an 8-0 run that pulled the Suns to within 74-72 with 38.7 seconds left in the period.

Marcus Morris scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter, hitting 3-of-4 shots, including his only 3-pointer of the game. His final field goal, a 17-foot-jump shot, gave the Suns a 92-91 lead with 5:04 remaining in the game.

THE BAD

As he walked to the bench for the under-six-minute timeout of the first quarter, Markieff Morris was hit with a technical foul — his 11th of the season — by official Ed Malloy for saying something, presumably about the foul he just committed on Mike Conley. Morris stayed in the game.

The Grizzlies closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run and opened the second quarter with eight unanswered points for a 17-2 stretch in 6:05 to take their largest lead of the half, 33-23, at the 9:12 mark. At that point, coach Jeff Hornacek subbed out Marcus Morris, Thomas and Wright to bring back starters Bledsoe, Tucker and Alex Len.

The Suns turned it over three times in their first six possessions of the second quarter. They finished with 16 turnovers for the game, including two late giveaways by Bledsoe, who accepted blame for the loss.

The Suns are the second-best free throw-shooting team in the NBA at 79 percent, but they missed all six of their first-half attempts. Len and Marcus Morris each went 0-of-2. The Suns finished the game shooting 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the line, their worst mark of season.

They weren’t going to stay quiet for long. After just eight combined points in the first half, Randolph and Gasol exploded for 18 in the third quarter. Randolph shot 3-of-5 from the field with four free throws for 10 points, while Gasol made 2-of-3 baskets and four free throws for eight points. They each grabbed three rebounds.

STAT OF THE GAME

22-11: The Grizzlies advantage in second-chance points, including the final three points of the game.

HE SAID IT

“We had a couple shots that we usually make, didn’t go in and then they went to what they’re good at. They went inside, we had a turnover where they scored… Jeff Green had a questionable call, but stuff happens. It’s just tough, I’ll tell you that. We thought we had that game.” -Thomas

NOTED

The Suns suffered their first loss of the season (8-1) when Bledsoe, Dragic and Thomas each score at least 15 points.

The Suns shot 50 percent from the field, losing for just the second time in the past two seasons (35-2) when making at least half their field goals.

Reggie Bullock and Archie Goodwin rejoined the Suns following a two-game stint with D-League Bakersfield, where Bullock averaged 25.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 35.6 minutes per game, and Goodwin averaged 26.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in 34.3 minutes.

UP NEXT

The Suns’ home stay was brief.

They’ll head back out on the road, albeit for only one game, when they travel to Portland to play the Trail Blazers on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Suns have won three straight games in their series with Portland, including the first meeting this season when Bledsoe scored a career-high 33 points in a 118-113 victory in Phoenix on Jan. 21. Bledsoe also posted 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals, while Thomas added a season-best 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting.

The Suns won three of four against Portland last season.

Related

Cardinals-Rams Week 6 injury report: Jeremiyah Love not participating at practice WednesdaySuns ranked as NBA team most desperate to win now, according to ESPN’s Zach KramJeremiyah Love missing practice due to lingering ankle issueMarvin Harrison Jr. keeps what he learned in Arizona to himself in post-trade press conferenceCarson Beck’s role remains unchanged ahead of Cardinals-RamsASU brought way more energy to practice. Can it translate to Texas Tech matchup?