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Suns stay hot with win over Lakers

Dec 29, 2014 - 5:38 AM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Suns' point guard trio combined for 61 points and Phoenix went into Staples Center and topped the Los Angeles Lakers, 116-107.

Goran Dragic scored a game-high 24 points, Eric Bledsoe posted 22 with eight rebounds and eight assists and Isaiah Thomas had 15 off the bench for the suddenly red-hot Suns.

Phoenix has won six games in a row on the heels of a six-game slide, although four of those wins have come against teams with a losing record.

"We stayed focused," said Suns coach Jeff Hornacek. "Eric had a rough start but he gave us a big lift in the third quarter."

Nick Young and Jeremy Lin scored 21 and 19 points, respectively, off the bench, as LA fell to 4-11 at home this season.

Phoenix led 88-81 after three quarters and extended its lead to 13 with Dragic and Gerald Green each hitting a 3-pointer in the opening 30 seconds of the fourth.

Marcus Morris' jumper two minutes later kept the lead at 13, but Young scored five points during a 9-0 run that gave Los Angeles life.

The spread was back to nine, 106-97, with Wesley Johnson connecting on a pair of 3s. Young then drained a pair at the line to pull LA within a point.

Young's free throws came with 2:20 remaining. The Lakers then went nearly two minutes without a point as Phoenix put the game away.

P.J. Tucker got a driving layup to go and Markieff Morris hit a difficult turnaround bank shot. Thomas made two free throws and Bledsoe went 4-for-4 to seal it.

"Just couldn't get a stop," said Lakers coach Byron Scott. "We were right there again, played hard for 48 minutes. But the last couple of minutes of the game, feels like we just lost it."

Young hit four 3-pointers in a three-minute window early in the second quarter. His first trey at 10:27 broke a tie, and the fourth gave the Lakers a 45-37 lead.

Phoenix chopped away over the course of the period and appeared to go ahead with a Dragic 3 as time expired, but video confirmed the ball was still in his hands when the buzzer sounded. The Lakers led 56-55 at the half.

Dragic followed a Bledsoe layup with one of his own at 7:24 of the third, and Alex Len took a feed from Markieff Morris and dunked as Phoenix climbed back in front.

The margin was down to once on multiple occasions after that, but LA never got over the hump.

Game Notes

Tucker and Markieff Morris scored 12 points apiece for Phoenix ... Earlier on Sunday, the Lakers were awarded rookie center Tarik Black off waivers from the Rockets and waived guard Xavier Henry ... Kobe Bryant finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.