Suns Snap Losing Streak, Down Reeling Pelicans
Alex Len scores 19 points and grabs 13 boards off bench to help Suns snap losing streak on national television on Friday night against the Pelicans.
The Phoenix Suns jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and maintained their lead for the remainder of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans en route to a 104-88 victory.
New Orleans (7-19) ran out to a 9-4 lead in the early minutes of the contest, but the Suns (12-16) countered the early spurt by the Pelicans with a 24-8 run of their own to close out the first quarter.
The Suns pushed the lead to 16 points in the first half and 17 points in the second half and maintained a double-digit lead for the entirety of the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Eric Bledsoe led the way for the Suns with 29 points on an efficient 12-17 shooting performance from the field. Bledsoe also did his part in finding open looks for his teammates as he finished with nine assists as well.
Alex Len played arguably his most impressive game of the season. Len came off the bench and poured in 19 points on 8-11 shooting and also snatched down 13 rebounds. Len played 10 more minutes than starting center Tyson Chandler as Jeff Hornacek rolled with the hot hand for the majority of the second half.
Markieff Morris received playing time for the first time in the past six games. Morris scored 13 points in just 17 minutes and carried a +12 rating.
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Phoenix was in constant foul trouble the entire contest and the Suns had five players with at least four fouls when the final buzzer sounded. The Suns’ fouls resulted in a multitude of free throws for the Pelicans, who went 32-38 from the charity stripe. Eric Gordon made a living at the line, as he knocked down 9 of his 11 attempts to finish with 15 points, although shooting a measly 2-11 from the field.
Anthony Davis had the best game for the Pelicans, turning in a stat sheet of 16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in 42 minutes. No other Pelican reached the 30-minute played threshold, as Alvin Gentry ran an 11-man rotation.
The New Orleans Pelicans will continue their road trip when they play the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. The Pelicans are 2-13 on the road this season with one of their two victories against the Suns on November 22.
Next: All-Time Phoenix Suns Roster
The Suns will look to continue adding to their win column when they host the Milwaukee Bucks in a Sunday matinee. Milwaukee is coming off of a late-game collapse to the NBA’s best team the Golden State Warriors in which the Bucks blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.