Bobcats-Suns Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 19 2012 2:54AM

Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry says that his team isn't good enough to overlook a high school team.

The free-falling Charlotte Bobcats are better than that, and they came up short in their last attempt at ending their latest double-digit losing streak.

The Suns have won a season-high three straight and will try to avoid their pattern of falling behind by big deficits Wednesday night when they try to hand the visiting Bobcats a 13th straight loss.

Phoenix (10-15) has won six times when it has trailed by 10 or more points, including Monday's 101-90 home victory over Sacramento in which it trailed by 19. Gentry said his club didn't overlook the Kings, who entered that contest with a 1-9 road mark.

"We are in no position to overlook anyone," Gentry said. "I look on the right side and we have 15 losses. So we can't overlook anyone. Not anyone in this state, including Chapparal High. We can't afford to overlook anyone."

Charlotte (7-17) enters on its longest losing streak of the season, but it's probably not a surprising one since the Bobcats endured skids of 16 and 23 last season when they went 7-59 for the worst winning percentage in NBA history (.106).

The Bobcats nearly arrived in Phoenix off a victory, but blew an 18-point second-half lead in Tuesday's 101-100 defeat to the Lakers. Charlotte missed three shots in the final 6 seconds.

"We're a young team and we just got to learn from each game and hopefully we picked up something from this game," said guard Ramon Sessions, who scored 20. "You just continue to play hard, we got Phoenix tomorrow and we're just looking to get a win really."

This matchup pits two of the league's worst defensive teams, with Charlotte allowing a league-worst 103.8 points per game and Phoenix yielding the sixth-worst average at 100.9.

Neither team played much defense when Phoenix won 117-110 on the road Nov. 7. Shannon Brown made six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 24 points while Michael Beasley and Marcin Gortat each posted double-doubles for the Suns.

Byron Mullens led Charlotte with 24 points - his second-highest total of the season. Sessions and Kemba Walker each scored 17.

Although Luis Scola started that game for the Suns, he is now in a new role in their offense in the high post since returning to the starting lineup for every game of this win streak. He had 14 points and a career-high 10 assists Monday.

"He did a great job last night in the spacing I thought of being able to catch it in the high post and either be able to score or be able to find the open guys so we just think he's much better equipped when he's playing up there to make good plays because he is such a good passer," Gentry said.

Brown will present another challenge after he made 10 of 13 shots for 22 points against the Kings.

Walker scored 28 points in Los Angeles and Gerald Henderson added 19. Henderson missed last month's matchup with a left foot sprain.

Charlotte has shown resiliency in splitting six games in the second half of back-to-back contests, although it has fallen on the last two by a total of 53 points.

Suns hand Charlotte 13th straight loss

By JONATHAN DALTON
Posted Dec 20 2012 12:38AM

PHOENIX (AP) Shannon Brown and the Phoenix Suns made a few adjustments after a slow start. The result: an easy victory.

Brown scored a season-high 26 points and the Suns routed the Bobcats 121-104 Wednesday night, Charlotte's league-worst 13th straight loss.

"If we run our offense, it ain't like I'm doing one-on-one moves and stuff like that," said Brown, who shook off a 2-for-5 start to finish 10 of 16 with five 3-pointers in 34 minutes. "I just want to continue that rhythm and take good shots."

After taking a one-point lead at the end of the first, Phoenix outscored Charlotte 22-6 over the first six-plus minutes of the second quarter to take a 50-33 lead with 5:28 left in the first half.

Sebastian Telfair led the charge, scoring all 11 of his points in the second and leading a defense that held the Bobcats to 3-of-15 shooting in the period.

"One thing we recognized in the first quarter was we were scoring but Charlotte was still getting the same shots," Telfair said. "So I focused in the second to really get some stops and prevent easy baskets. Everything opened up from that point."

Goran Dragic added 21 points and 11 assists, and Jared Dudley had 20 points for the Suns, who have won a season-best four straight.

Phoenix connected on a season-high 17 3-pointers on 28 attempts.

"I thought we shot it well because we had good ball movement," said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. "We were taking it from the strong side to the weak side and we had their bigs in rotation so we were able to get some 3s with our feet set."

Kemba Walker scored 27 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 25 to match a career high for the Bobcats, who have not won since Nov.. 24.

"We're fine. We're a young team," Walker said. "We still feel pretty confident in ourselves. As long as we're getting better, we definitely will all just come together. Good things are going to happen for us."

The Suns' biggest lead was 96-66 - on Dudley's jumper with 37.5 seconds left in the third quarter.

"We're giving them a lot of time but, unfortunately, wisdom comes after some nasty experiences," said Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap. "The score disparity at halftime came because we gave up a lot of easy baskets and we were impatient. There's no doubt we're teething, but tonight was a mental thing."

Charlotte, coming off a one-point loss Tuesday against the Lakers, cut the lead in half midway through the fourth quarter and pulled to 109-95 on a 3-pointer by Walker with 4:17 remaining.

"Especially in the fourth quarter we played pretty well," Kidd-Gilchrist said. "There's good things in this loss, too. It's not all bad things we can take away from this loss."

But Luis Scola scored six straight points to key a late 12-5 run that put the Suns ahead 121-100 before settling for the 17-point win.

"We have to do a better job of staying in the moment and finishing the job," Gentry said. "You have to understand that, with the group particularly, most of them are young kids that are trying to establish themselves in this league and they are going to continue to play all the way to the end."

Kidd-Gilchrist and Walker each were 9 of 14 from the floor while their teammates shot 37.9 percent.

NOTES: The Suns have matched their longest winning streak of the past two seasons. ... Phoenix's two highest-scoring games have come against Charlotte. The Suns also set season marks with 36 second-quarter points and 64 in the first half. ... Dudley has scored 20-plus points in three straight games for the first time in his career. ... The Bobcats scored 20 of their 27 first-quarter points in the paint but only 36 inside over the final three quarters. ... Georgia McCoy, the wife of Suns radio announcer Al McCoy, passed away earlier Wednesday. McCoy, the only radio play-by-play man the team has had in its 45-year history, worked the game and waved a thank you at a fan who brought a sign offering prayers to him and his family.

Notebook: Suns 121, Bobcats 104

Jonathan Dalton, For NBA.com
Posted Thu Dec 20, 2012 12:43 AM - Updated Thu Dec 20, 2012 12:43 AM

THE FACTS: Shannon Brown, who scored 24 points against Charlotte on Nov. 7, tallied a season-high 26 points and the Phoenix Suns used 17 shots from 3-point land to send the Bobcats to their 13th straight loss, 121-104, on Wednesday night.

Goran Dragic added 21 points and 11 assists while Jared Dudley had 20 for the Suns (11-15), who have won four straight games for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Kemba Walker scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 25 for the Bobcats (7-18), who are winless since matching their win total from last season on Nov. 24.

Phoenix led by as many as 30 points in the closing minute of the third quarter, saw the Bobcats cut the lead in half but used a late 12-5 run to secure the win and a 4-1 homestand.

QUOTABLE: "If we run our offense, it ain't like I'm doing one-on-one moves and stuff like that. For the most part, we're moving the ball and finishing each other and that opens the ball up for each other."

-- Shannon Brown

THE STAT: Brown was 10-for-16 from the floor, 5-for-7 from behind the arc and added four rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes. He also recorded a steal in 12 straight games, the fifth-longest active streak in the league.

TURNING POINT: Phoenix's second unit, led by Sebastian Telfair, outscored Charlotte 13-2 over the first 5:37 of the second quarter. That opened a 41-29 lead that grew to as many as 20 before halftime. Telfair scored all 11 of his points during the period.

QUOTABLE II: "We're a young team. We still feel pretty confident in ourselves. As long as we're getting better, we definitely will all just come together. Good things are going to happen for us. Right now we're losing, but I think good things are going to happen for us pretty soon."

-- Kemba Walker

HOT: The Suns set season highs for points (121), second-quarter points (36), first-half points (64) and 3-pointers (17). The Suns also posted consecutive 30-point quarters for the first time this season.

NOT: After trailing only 28-27 deficit after the first quarter, the Bobcats made only 3 of their 15 field goals and were outscored 36-19 in the second. Only 11 free throws kept what was an 18-point deficit from being far worse.

NOTABLE: The Suns have swept the Bobcats six times in Charlotte's nine-year history. ... Phoenix finished a five-game homestand with at least four wins for the first time since 2007-08. .... Kidd-Gilchrist and Walker each were 9-for-14 from the floor. The remainder of the Bobcats were 22-for-58 for 37.9 percent. ... During their four-game winning streak, the Suns have averaged 100.8 points and only 10.5 turnovers per game.

ROOKIE WATCH: Kidd-Gilchrist matched a career high. He also added 12 rebounds, three steals, four assists and a block.

UP NEXT: For the Bobcats, Friday @ Warriors, Saturday @ Nuggets, Wednesday vs. Heat. For the Suns, Saturday @ Blazers, Sunday vs. L.A. Clippers, Wednesday vs. Knicks.

• Bobcats: Thomas
• Suns: Frye, Marshall

• Bobcats: --
• Suns: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #39 Brenda Pantoja
• Attendance: 13308
• Duration: 2:05