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Suns beat skidding Bobcats

Feb 5, 2012 - 5:51 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Robin Lopez scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, as the Phoenix Suns handed the Charlotte Bobcats their 11th straight loss with a 95-89 victory.

Michael Redd had 17 points in his first start of the season for the Suns, who snapped a four-game skid against Charlotte. Marcin Gortat donated 12 points and 12 rebounds.

"I think we need to stay focused, we need to stay somewhat loose I think," Lopez said. "I think tonight seemed like some of the guys were having fun and obviously we had some nice dunks. I think before the game the atmosphere was a little loose, we had fun out there."

Reggie Williams ended with 21 points, seven boards and six assists for the Bobcats, who fell to 1-13 on the road this season. Kemba Walker tallied 22 points.

Boris Diaw added 13 points for Charlotte, which is suffering its longest slide since a franchise-record 13-game skid from January 11-February 1, 2006. Bismack Biyombo had 11 points and 12 rebounds in his first NBA start.

The Suns started the fourth quarter on a 16-3 run. Lopez scored 11 points during the burst, including two free throws with 2:22 left for an 88-75 lead.

The Bobcats responded with a 7-0 spurt to make it a six-point contest, but Phoenix went 5-for-6 from the foul line down the stretch.

"We just missed some shots that we should have made and they came down and executed their offense and they made shots," Walker said. "That's just the way it went in the second half. They really just outplayed us in the fourth quarter. He (Lopez) played well. He made some big shots down the stretch."

The Suns held a 25-24 edge after a tight first quarter, which featured four lead changes and two ties.

With the score tied at 41 late in the second frame, Diaw made a three-pointer prior to Walker scoring four points. That gave the Bobcats a 48-41 margin with 54.5 seconds left.

Redd made 1-of-2 free throws to cut the gap to six at the half.

Walker's jumper less than two minutes into the second half gave Charlotte a 54-44 lead.

But the Suns scored the next seven points to make it a 54-51 contest with 7:17 to go. The rest of the period remained close and Markieff Morris' trey made it 72-72 heading to the fourth.

Game Notes

Phoenix was without starting guard Jared Dudley (thigh), snapping his career- best consecutive games played streak at 206. It was the fourth-longest active streak in the NBA...Charlotte guard Gerald Henderson will miss 2-4 weeks of action with a right hamstring strain...The Bobcats turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 19 Phoenix points...Gortat has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 15 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. It's the longest streak by a Sun since Charles Barkley in 1995-96 (19).