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Dragic guides Suns past Lakers

Dec 11, 2013 - 7:00 AM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Goran Dragic had 31 points and five assists as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 114-108 on Tuesday night.

Marcus Morris added 22 points, while Eric Bledsoe chipped in 18 points and nine assists for the Suns, who have won three of their last four games.

Kobe Bryant netted 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting for the Lakers, who are 0-2 since he returned from Achilles surgery. Bryant had nine points, eight rebounds, eight turnovers and four assists in his season debut Sunday.

"We have to get better defensively, right now we're struggling," Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni said.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 14 in the third quarter, but Bryant and Jordan Hill netted four points apiece during an 11-2 run to whittle to gap to 73-72 late in the third.

Los Angeles, though, never got any closer.

Bledsoe, who recorded a pair of buckets in the final 25 seconds of the frame, nailed a short jumper and drove coast-to-coast for a layup as the quarter expired to give the Suns a 79-74 advantage.

Marcus Morris nailed a triple to give the Suns a 95-86 spread midway through the final frame and the Lakers never cut the deficit below four the rest of the way.

"We just continued to play our game and not slow down," Morris said of holding off the Lakers down the stretch.

Game Notes

The Suns shot 51.8 percent (44-of-85) from the field, while Los Angeles shot 48.8 percent (39-of-80) from the floor ... Steve Blake had nine points and nine assists for Los Angeles.