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Hornets pull away to beat Suns

Nov 15, 2014 - 1:29 PM Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Kemba Walker scored 19 points and the Charlotte Hornets pulled away for a 103-95 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak in the series.

Gary Neal scored 12 of his 14 points in a big fourth quarter for the Hornets, including a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-2 run that gave them a 10-point lead with six minutes left.

The Suns, who led by as many as 14 in the game, got as close as four down the stretch but three straight layups by Charlotte and four free throws from Neal sealed the Hornets' first road win of the season (1-4).

"We finished it in the end," said Hornets coach Steve Clifford. "We had chances in New York, obviously ahead at halftime in L.A., ahead with seven minutes to go in Portland, but tonight we did a good job of finishing up the game at the end.

"Tonight we had a lot of guys play well, which is what it's going to take. We're still obviously trying to find the playing groups for the rotations which we haven't gotten to yet but we need to."

Al Jefferson also scored 14 and Lance Stephenson had 13 points for Charlotte, which hadn't beaten Phoenix since Jan. 26, 2011. Bismack Biyombo chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win, Charlotte's first in three games.

Eric Bledsoe had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Suns and Marcus Morris had 17 points. Markieff Morris, Miles Plumlee and Goran Dragic scored 12 apiece in the loss, which dropped Phoenix to 2-3 on a five-game homestand after two straight wins.

The Suns bench was outscored 43-20 by Charlotte's.

"Our bench got thoroughly beat by those guys," said Suns coach Jeff Hornacek.

Markieff Morris scored 10 points in the first quarter and the Suns held the Hornets to 6-of-22 shooting to take a 28-14 lead into the second.

But the Hornets got balanced scoring in the second and Cody Zeller's dunk capped a 7-0 run at the end of the quarter to tie the game at 47-47 going into the break.

Charlotte led by as many as seven in the third quarter after PJ Hairston's four-point play but the Suns scored 21 of the next 34 points for a 75-74 lead going into the fourth.

Game Notes

Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist missed the game with a stress reaction in his right foot ... The Suns start a six-game road trip on Saturday in Los Angeles against the Clippers ... The Hornets are 1-2 on a four-game road trip that ends Saturday against Golden State.