Suns 97, Bulls 81: Luis Scola scored 22 points and Michael Beasley added 20 off the bench as Phoenix snapped its 12-game road losing streak by posting the 2,000th victory in franchise history.
Sebastian Telfair recorded 13 points, Shannon Brown added 11 and Marcin Gortat contributed eight and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who had dropped five in a row overall - including the first three of their four-game road trip.
Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 10 boards while Joakim Noah chipped in 10 and 13 for the Bulls, who fell to 10-10 at home.
Chicago carried a one-point lead into the second quarter, when Beasley scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting to help Phoenix to a 49-42 advantage at the break. The Suns maintained control in the third, never allowing their lead to dip below seven points and pushing it to 14 on Telfair's 3-pointer at the end of the quarter.
After Chicago's Jimmy Butler opened the scoring in the fourth with a dunk, Phoenix poured in the next seven points for an 84-65 lead. The Bulls were unable to get within single digits as Beasley, Telfair and Markieff Morris combined to match Chicago's 18 points in the final quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bulls were 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half and didn't even attempt a shot from beyond the arc in the third quarter. They failed on their first three tries in the fourth before Nate Robinson connected with 6:19 remaining and finished 2-of-11. ... Scola has scored at least 20 points in four of his last nine games after reaching the plateau only three times over his first 30 contests. ... Phoenix had not won on the road since Nov. 27 at Cleveland.
Phoenix | Chicago | |
Luis Scola 22 | Scoring | Carlos Boozer 15 |
Goran Dragic 8 | Assists | Nate Robinson 6 |
Marcin Gortat 10 | Rebounds | Joakim Noah 13 |
Sebastian Telfair 7 | Free Throws Made | Carlos Boozer 3 |
Shannon Brown 2 | Steals | Jimmy Butler 1 |
Markieff Morris 4 | Blocks | Taj Gibson 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Phoenix | 97 | 49.3 | 6-14 | 19-25 | 23 | 46 | 11 | 5 | 18 |
Chicago | 81 | 36.4 | 2-11 | 15-21 | 18 | 42 | 6 | 6 | 11 |