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Jackson leads Charlotte past Phoenix

Jan 27, 2011 - 5:23 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Stephen Jackson scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out four assists to lead Charlotte past Phoenix, 114-107, at the US Airways Center.

Gerald Wallace contributed 22 points and 10 boards while Boris Diaw supplied 18 points, six caroms and five assists in his return to Phoenix to help the Bobcats to a second straight win to begin a six-game road swing.

Steve Nash scored a game-high 27 and dished out 15 assists while Vince Carter added 22 points and six rebounds for the Suns, who opened a five-game homestand with their third straight defeat.

"It was a tough loss," Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry said. "We didn't execute and complete plays very well. We have to find a way to dig ourselves out of this. I told the guys in the locker room that we are the only ones who can do that."

Carter moved past former Suns forward Tom Chambers into 36th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 20,068 points.

The Suns trailed by five less than two minutes into the third quarter but rallied to take a 79-72 lead on a Channing Frye triple midway through the period.

Charlotte then went on a 13-3 surge to reclaim an 85-82 edge on a Jackson trifecta inside of three minutes left in the stanza.

Despite making 8-of-11 shots from beyond the arc in the quarter, Phoenix was outscored, 33-30, and trailed 92-87 heading into the final stanza.

Nash's driving layup with 4:11 left moved the hosts within 106-104 but the Bobcats responded with jumpers from Diaw and Gerald Henderson to stretch the lead to six just under a minute later.

A Nash triple halved the lead before Henderson hit a pull-up jump shot and D.J. Augustin added two foul shots to account for the final margin with 1:49 to play in the game.

"I think his (head coach Paul Silas) demeanor, his style, the way he coaches, he always tells us everything is alright," Wallace said. "I think the calmer the coaches are, that makes us out on the court calmer. We didn't panic. They made some shots but we stuck to our principles and we were able to come out with a win tonight."

Diaw and Augustin scored eight points apiece to help the Bobcats forge a 31-26 lead after the first quarter.

The visitors maintained the lead through the entire second stanza by making 10-of-18 shots and took a 59-57 lead at the intermission.

Game Notes

Charlotte hit 9-of-17 from beyond the arc while the Suns drained 16-of-32 from three-point territory...Wallace was 8-of-13 from the floor while Diaw went 7- of-10...Diaw played for the Suns from 2005 until being traded to the Bobcats in December, 2008...Nash was 11-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from long distance...Carter made 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and finished 8-of-17 overall...Frye made four triples to finish with 12 points...He added six rebounds.