• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Morris paces Suns over Raptors

Dec 7, 2013 - 5:06 AM Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Markieff Morris hit his first 11 shot attempts and finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns beat the Toronto Raptors 106-97 on Friday night.

Eric Bledsoe scored 19 points with six assists, while P.J. Tucker had 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for Phoenix, which snapped a three-game losing streak against Toronto.

Amir Johnson paced Toronto with a season-high 22 points and Kyle Lowry finished with 21 points and seven assists.

Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan scored 17 and 13, respectively, on a combined 11- of-30 shooting.

Phoenix doubled up the Raptors 14-7 over the first 6:39 of the third to take a 66-57 lead after a Bledsoe layup.

The lead swelled to as many as 13 after a technical free throw from Bledsoe. Toronto outscored the Suns, however, 11-5 in the final 1:51 of the quarter to pull within seven, 81-74, heading to the fourth.

The Suns opened the final frame on an 8-2 run to increase the lead to 89-77 with 9:25 left.

Marcus Morris hit a triple from the corner midway through the quarter to give the Suns a 94-79 advantage.

Toronto's last ditch effort came via a 12-3 run that pulled the visitors within six, 97-91, following a Johnson layup at 2:42.

Bledsoe countered with the dagger almost a minute later with a 3-pointer from the wing and Tucker made two at the line to extend the lead 102-91 with over a minute to play.

Marcus Morris hit a three to begin the second, but Toronto used a 16-6 run to take a 43-36 lead. Gay, who had nine points during the burst, started the run with a driving layup and capped it with a jumper midway through the stanza.

Phoenix took the lead back with just over two minutes left following a Dragic three and the Suns brought a slim 52-50 lead into the break.

Phoenix jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening 3:06 after a pair of free throws from Bledsoe.

Toronto answered with a 20-9 run after a DeRozan alley-oop slam from Lowry to give the Raptors a 22-19 lead with 4:07 left.

The two teams were tied 27 all after one.

Game Notes

Toronto was looking to win four straight games over the Suns for the first time in franchise history ... Toronto has lost five-straight overall ... Phoenix outrebounded Toronto 53-36 ... Toronto continues its road trip with a meeting against Kobe and the Lakers on Sunday ... Phoenix with travel to play the Lakers on Tuesday.