• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Dragic powers Suns past Grizzlies

Feb 6, 2013 - 7:29 AM Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Goran Dragic scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to push the Phoenix Suns past the Memphis Grizzlies, 96-90, on Tuesday at FedExForum.

Dragic shot 5-for-6 from the floor while also making all five of his free throw attempts in the final quarter to help the Suns end a two-game skid. Marcin Gortat came through with 20 points and Kendall Marshall added 11 off the bench.

"I was struggling the first three quarters. I got two and-ones and got some momentum," Dragic said.

Jermaine O'Neal returned after a seven-game absence with an irregular heartbeat to score 14 in the victory.

Jerryd Bayless finished with a season-high 29 points, but Memphis couldn't take advantage of a Phoenix team which came in with a 4-20 record on the road. Zach Randolph broke out of a three-game slump with 21 points and 13 boards in defeat.

"The disappointing part is they outscored us in the paint, 52-40, and they got 11 offensive rebounds for 16 second-chance points," Memphis head coach Lionel Hollins said.

Tayshaun Prince scored 11 points in his second game with the Grizzlies, but had a crucial turnover late in the contest, which helped decide the outcome.

The Grizzlies had the ball after a layup and a pair of free throws from Dragic gave the Suns a 92-88 edge with 50 seconds to play, but following a timeout, Prince threw an inbounds pass wide of Bayless out of bounds, giving the ball back to Phoenix.

Dragic then finished his 15-point fourth quarter effort with a mid-range jumper to push the Suns' lead to six.

Memphis lost its last chance when Darrell Arthur finished a 1-for-10 shooting performance by bricking a 3-point attempt with 26 seconds remaining. He scored just four points for the contest.

Phoenix took control earlier in the period when Dragic had a pair of three- point plays during a 14-5 push, with his first tying the game with 7:07 to play and his second giving the Suns a four-point edge at 86-82 following a triple from Marshall.

The Grizzlies led 52-50 at the end of the first half and carried a five-point edge into the fourth after Bayless hit back-to-back jumpers and Prince closed out the session with a layup.

Game Notes

Phoenix scored 20 points off 17 Memphis turnovers ... The Suns scored 52 points inside the paint ... Luis Scola tallied 10 points and seven rebounds for Phoenix ... There were 11 ties and six lead changes throughout the contest.