National Basketball Association
Phoenix 92, Orlando 87
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials:
#25 Tony Brothers, #51 Aaron Smith, #40 Leon Wood
Attendance:
17069
By The Sports Xchange
ORLANDO, Fla. -- There is something about playing in Orlando that brings out the best in Phoenix center Alex Len.
Len, in his fourth NBA season out of Maryland and the Ukraine, had 17 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots to lead the Suns to a 92-87 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at the Amway Center.
After last season, his performance should not have been a surprise.
Len scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds last season when the Suns drilled the Magic in Orlando.
"He was a beast out there, and we need him to do that every night," Suns guard Eric Bledsoe said. "It was a must win for us, and he came out like a monster. We needed him tonight, and he came through."
Bledsoe had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Brandon Knight added 12 points and Devin Booker 11. Marquese Chriss and P.J. Tucker each scored 10 points for the Suns.
The Magic were led by Evan Fournier with 25 points. Center Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. He scored eight points in the fourth quarter.
The Suns (5-11) finished their six-game road trip with just two victories, but they saved their best for last.
"This was our best game of the season," Bledsoe said. "I thought we were locked in defensively and we played well as team. And Len was big tonight."
Len, averaging just 8.9 points and 7.9 rebounds, has raised his game in the absence of center and team-leader Tyson Chandler, who missed his fourth consecutive game. Len had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in Monday's loss to Washington. He had 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in last week's victory at Indiana.
"He (Len) was amazing tonight. We love him," Suns coach Earl Watson said. "He played tough, and he played smart. He was very unselfish. It was just what we needed."
The Suns never trailed in the fourth quarter, but they never led by more than eight points. The Magic (6-9) closed to 74-73 when Vucevic hit a jumper. They closed to 88-85 with 18 seconds remaining when Fournier hit one of two free throws. Bledsoe made two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
"We had a number of guys have bad nights," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "We had several great possessions where we created good shots but just didn’t knock them down. We just have to keep working at it."
Knight hit a 3-pointer for the 88-80 lead with 1:42 left. The Suns had six turnovers in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter but held off the Magic with inspired defense.
The Magic shot just 36.3 percent (33 of 91) from the field and the Suns shots 45.1 percent (33 of 73).
"It's frustrating," Fournier said. "We just have to find more ways to score. We're playing good defense, but we just don't many easy baskets."
Tucker scored for the 76-73 advantage and Bledsoe hit a 3-pointer for the 79-75 lead.
The Suns led 68-66 going into the fourth quarter. Chriss hit a 3-pointer for a 63-57 lead midway in the third quarter, capping a 9-0 run. The Magic led by as many as four points in the quarter.
The Suns led 46-44 at halftime, riding a well-balanced attack with 10 players scoring at least three points apiece. Len had eight points and seven rebounds by intermission. P.J. Tucker also had eight points.
Fournier led everyone in the first half with 14 points when he hit five of his 10 shots from the field and two of his three 3-point attempts.
The Magic made only 17 of 49 shots from the floor in the opening two quarters.
The Suns led by as many as 12 points midway in the second quarter when they scored 10 consecutive points, including 3-pointers by Jared Dudley and Tucker.
NOTES: Suns C Tyson Chandler missed his fourth consecutive game since the death of his mother. ... Magic owner Rich DeVos is the proud father-in-law of Betsy DeVos, who was selected Wednesday to be Secretary of Education in President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet. ... The Suns were finishing a six-game road trip Wednesday night, having lost four of the previous five games. They played their 11th road game of the season, most in the NBA. ... Magic C Nikola Vucevic, who averaged a team-high 18.2 points last season, came into the game mired in a career-worst scoring slump, even though he remains in the starting lineup. In the previous six games, he averaged just 6.7 points while shooting 26.4 percent from the field. He is averaging just 10.7 points this season. ... Suns SF T.J. Warren was sick and missed his third consecutive game. ... The Suns beat the Magic in the three previous meetings in Orlando. ... The up-tempo Suns lead the NBA in pace this season, averaging 104.8 possessions in 48 minutes.
Top Game Performances
Phoenix |
|
Orlando |
Alex Len 17 |
Scoring |
Evan Fournier 25 |
Eric Bledsoe 5 |
Assists |
Elfrid Payton 7 |
Alex Len 12 |
Rebounds |
Nikola Vucevic 14 |
Eric Bledsoe 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Evan Fournier 4 |
Devin Booker 2 |
Steals |
Evan Fournier 3 |
Dragan Bender 2 |
Blocks |
Serge Ibaka 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Phoenix
|
92 |
45.2 |
9-22 |
17-22 |
15 |
44 |
7 |
6 |
17 |
Orlando
|
87 |
36.3 |
7-25 |
14-23 |
17 |
44 |
8 |
9 |
11 |
Upcoming Games
-
Orlando will play their next game at home against Washington. The Magic have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .375 after a loss.
-
Phoenix will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Suns have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .364 after a loss.