Suns Vs. Grizzlies Final Score: Phoenix Picks Up 98-91 Win Over Memphis

The Phoenix Suns hosted the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night at the US Airways Center. The Suns knew heading into the game that they would be facing a tough opponent in Memphis, although the team that is currently in fourth place in the Western Conference has struggled on the road in the shortened 2011-12 season; heading into Saturday night's game, the Grizzlies were 8-10 on the road. Make that 8-11 now, as the Suns picked up the 98-91 win and attempt to claw their way back to .500.

The Grizzlies jumped out to an early 29-26 lead after the first quarter, but the Phoenix defense was able to clamp down after that and outscore the visitors in each of the next three quarters and safely pulled away for the decisive win.

Jared Dudley of the Suns put up 19 points in the winning effort. Steve Nash had another double-double with 11 points and 15 assists. Memphis center Marc Gasol led all scorers in the game with 21 points, also accumulating eight rebounds and five assists.

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Phoenix Suns Bench Sparks Impressive Win Over Dallas Mavericks, 96-94

The Phoenix Suns started the game looking very much like a team playing the second of a back-to-back against the defending NBA Champions. For the first half of the Thursday's game against the Dallas Mavericks, that's exactly what it was. But in the third quarter the Suns turned up the jets and dropped 34 points to get right back into the game.

Hakim Warrick, who last played over ten minutes in game on February 1, was the surprise spark off the bench. Warrick gave the Suns a ton of hustle and infectious energy that ignited the team and the home crowd. He finished with nine points in 17 minutes but that doesn't tell the full story of the impact he had on the game.

"I just tried to come in and be a game changer. You always have to be ready no matter what when your number is called. I was able to go in and get to the line and get some easy buckets," Warrick said.

Things did get very interesting in the final minutes.

The bench unit was able to push the lead to nine in the fourth quarter before Steve Nash came back in with 4:34 to go.

Jason Kidd hit a three with under two minutes to make it a six point game as the Suns offense struggled to find an open look. Dirk Nowitzki hit one of his classic shots to cut to four. After an offensive foul on Marcin Gortat, the Mavs got the ball and cut it to two with a move in the post.

That left us with a two-point game and 15 seconds to play and in the NBA that means the free throw game. Grant Hill missed both to open the door for Dallas but the Mavs Rodrique Beaubois missed one shot and then with 2.5 seconds missed a second to preserve the win for Phoenix.

Jared Dudley led the Suns with 18 points. Steve Nash had 11 points and 11 assists.

Vince Carter was on first in the first half and finished with 18 points but only had five in the second half. Lamar Odom had what could be a breakout game with 15 of his own.

The Suns are off Friday and then host the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

Aaron Brooks Could Re-Sign With Phoenix Suns This Season After Successful Run In China

With the Phoenix Suns set to take on the Dallas Mavericks tonight on TNT, Aaron Brooks' experience in China will be a feature story during TNT's NBA broadcast.

Brooks signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the China Basketball Association during the NBA lockout and his Tigers are now just a win away from the CBA Finals. Once the Tigers' season is complete, because Brooks' rights still belong to the Suns, there are options as to what can be done with the guard the Suns traded Goran Dragic and a first-round draft pick for last season.

According to AZCentral.com, if Brooks were to re-sign with the Suns for the remainder of this season, it'd likely only be for the final month. With the Suns currently three games out of the playoff picture and potentially sellers at the NBA trade deadline next week, bringing Brooks back for the proverbial stretch run might turn out to be a worthless move, and then they'd risk losing him outright when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in July.

If the Suns opt to not re-sign him after the Tigers' season, Brooks would not be able to return to the NBA this season and he would be a restricted free agent in July, allowing the Suns to match any offer sheet he receives. They would, however, lose out on sign-and-trade rights because he didn't finish the season on the team's roster.

Finally, the Suns could always offer him a multiple year deal if they believe Brooks factors into their long-term plans. Plus, if the Suns find themselves making a little bit of a playoff push, Brooks could redeem himself and potentially provide the impact he did not bring to the team last year when he was acquired via trade.

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Phoenix Suns Vs. Dallas Mavericks: TV Schedule, Lineups And More

The Phoenix Suns (17-21) host the reigning champions Thursday night in a nationally televised game on TNT.

Dallas is struggling on the road of late, losing their last five dating back almost three weeks, but are probably confident traveling into Phoenix to take on the Suns, who Dallas has beaten in each of their first three match ups this season with relative ease.

After seeing their three-game winning streak snapped last night in Oklahoma City, the Suns are back at US Airways Center for four straight and six of their next seven, which bodes well for a team that is currently three games outside of the playoff picture and in need of wins.

Projected Lineups:

Point guard: Steve Nash --- Jason Kidd

Shooting guard: Jared Dudley -- Vince Carter

Small forward: Grant Hill -- Shawn Marion

Power forward: Channing Frye -- Dirk Nowitzki

Center: Marcin Gortat -- Ian Mahinmi

Key subs: Suns (Markieff Morris, Shannon Brown, Sebastian Telfair, Robin Lopez). Mavs (Jason Terry, Brendan Haywood, Yi Jianlian, Lamar Odom). Haywood is questionable with a sprained left ankle. Delonte West is out and Brandan Wright did not make the trip with the team.

TV broadcast info: 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT

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Thunder Just Too Good Despite Strong Effort From Suns

More: Thunder roll Suns in second half

The Phoenix Suns didn't play bad at all Wednesday. They played well enough to beat plenty of other teams, just not the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC saved its best for the fourth quarter and outscored the Suns 31-16 to cruise to a 115-104 at the Chesapeake Energy Center.

The Suns looked as good as ever in the first quarter, leading by as many as 15 points. You had to wonder if it was their night when center Marcin Gortat ran the floor on the break for a dunk, and then when Channing Frye hit a bank-shot three with 4:41 to go to make the score 23-11.

Frye's three made it 53-44 with five minutes left before halftime, and the Suns led by six, 64-58, at halftime. Marcin Gortat had 18 of his career high 28 points by halftime.

At one point in the third quarter, the Suns held an 82-68 advantage and things were looking good when the Thunder's Russell Westbrook was called for a technical foul. But Oklahoma City got busy over the last few minutes of the quarter and trailed by only four after three quarters.

OKC went up 91-90 and kept building on the lead. By the middle of the fourth quarter the Thunder had a seven-point lead and were almost unstoppable with Kevin Durant and Westbrook leading the way.

Durant finished with 30 points, Westbrook 31 with 10 assists and former ASU star James Harden 30 including four 3-pointers. Harden's three made it 109-98 with 3:54 left in the game and Suns were done.

Durant hit a shot over a falling Grant Hill to make it 112-104 on a possession on which the Suns had to have a stop.

The Thunder won its fifth straight over Phoenix and moved to 17-1 at home this season. The Suns' three-game winning streak ended and their record fell to 17-21, even though six players scored in double figures. Gortat had 11 rebounds, Jared Dudley 17 points and 11 boards and Steve Nash 13 assists and 12 points.

Phoenix Suns Vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: TV Schedule, Lineups And More

The Suns put their recent 5-1 streak on the line against the Best in the West, the OKC Thunder.