Phoenix Suns Dominate Second Half, Defeat Sacramento Kings 96-88

The Phoenix Suns began the second half trailing the Sacramento Kings, but some strong team defense and solid offensive execution down the stretch led to a 96-88 win. The Suns are now 17-20 on the season, including a 10-9 mark at US Airways Center, while the Kings fell to 12-25. Phoenix has now won three in a row and four of their last five, with their lone loss coming by two points against the Warriors.

Trailing by five at half, the Suns outscored the Kings 50-36 in the second half.

Steve Nash led the way with 19 points and seven assists, and was crucial in halting a late run from the Kings in the closing minutes. With just a few seconds left on the shot clock, Nash used a screen and hit a fadeaway 3-pointer to put the Suns up by six. Marcin Gortat had a huge night with 14 points and 17 rebounds against a talented Kings frontline. Shannon Brown had 13 big points off the bench, most of which came in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back hits from behind the arc.

Marcus Thornton led all scorers with 21 points on 23 shots. Rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas struggled throughout the evening and had just eight points on 3-for-13 shooting. DeMarcus Cousins recored a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The Suns will now have a few days of rest before traveling to Oklahoma City to face Kevin Durant and the Thunder on Wednesday evening. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Arizona time.

Phoenix Suns Trail Sacramento Kings At Halftime Despite Strong Effort From Steve Nash

The Phoenix Suns are working to get back to .500 on the season and have a favorable matchup with the Sacramento Kings this evening, who are 4-18 on the road this season. Despite a strong start, the Suns struggled to contain DeMarcus Cousins, who already has 12 points and 10 rebounds, and the Kings up-tempo offense. At the break, Phoenix trails by a score of 52-47.

Steve Nash has played very well and has taken advantage of rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas for most of the evening. Nash, who has been subject to trade rumors this past week, has 11 points of 5-for-9 shooting and has dished out three assists. Marcin Gortat had to be careful after picking up two early fouls, but still managed to finish the half with eight points and seven rebounds. Robin Lopez played well off the bench against a tough Sacramento front court, and he has seven points at the break.

Marcus Thornton of the Kings led all scorers with 14 points, although he already has three fouls. Jimmer Fredette came into the game for a whole 37 seconds before being pulled by head coach Keith Smart.

The second half is about to get underway. For more on the Suns, head on over to Valley Of The Suns.

Suns Vs. Kings: TV Schedule, Lineups, More

After a two-game winning streak to jump out of the gates after the All-Star break, the Phoenix Suns now play a third game in a row at home. They face the Sacramento Kings. They beat the Kings 98-84 when they met in California January 11, with Jared Dudley scoring 20 points.

The Suns are coming off an 81-78 win over the Clippers that took some solid defense to overcome a terrible offensive first half. The Kings lost on Friday to the LA Lakers.

The game will be televised on FSN Arizona at 6 PM, as is the custom on Sundays.

Projected Lineups:

• Point guard: Steve Nash --- Tyreke Evans
• Shooting guard: Jared Dudley -- Marcus Thornton
• Small forward: Grant Hill -- John Salmons
• Power forward: Channing Frye -- Jason Thompson
• Center: Marcin Gortat -- DeMarcus Cousins
• Key subs: Suns (Markieff Morris, Michael Redd, Ronnie Price, Shannon Brown, Hakim Warrick). Kings (Chuck Hayes, Jimmer Fredette, J.J. Hickson, Isaiah Thomas, Donta Greene)

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Suns Overcome Lowest-Scoring Half Of Season For Win

The Phoenix Suns and Channing Frye had a most forgettable first half Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, the top team in the Pacific Division. But they managed to overcome CP3, Blake Griffin and the rest of that ultra-chic Lob City thing for an uplifting 81-78 win at the US Airways Center.

A loose-ball foul on Griffin with 38.4 seconds left to play -- just before a certain shot-clock violation -- helped save the Suns as Steve Nash calmly sank both free throws to give the Suns the points needed to secure the victory. The call was reviewed and went the Suns' way.

Marcin Gortat swatted away a follow by the Clips' Caron Butler after the free throws, and Frye, who was 0-for-10 in the first half, hit a free throw he earned with good defense at the other end on Griffin prior to the block.

Chris Paul (CP3) hit a 3-pointer with 26.5 seconds left to cut the Suns' lead to 77-75, but after a wild sequence in which the Clippers miraculously managed not to foul Nash -- though he was clearly hacked -- Jared Dudley made two free throws with 13.3 seconds. Grant Hill blocked a three from Paul and took off down the court for the clinching dunk.

The Suns (16-20) trailed 35-32 at halftime, their lowest point total of any half this season, and made only 13 of 45 shot attempts. They turned things around in the third quarter and had to hold on at the end.

A 31-point third quarter gave the Suns a 63-52 lead going into the fourth. But the Clippers rallied to tie the score at 70 with 3:59 to play on Mo Williams' three.

The Suns were the better defensive team down the stretch, forcing the Clips into some difficult shots. Dudley finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, Gortat 18 and 14 boards and Frye only six points but 14 rebounds.

Griffin and Paul were a combined 12-for-34 from the field on the second of back-to-back games for L.A.

Phoenix Suns Vs. Los Angeles Clippers: TV Schedule, Lineups And Lob City Invasion

The Phoenix Suns kicked off the second half of their season with a nice little win over the Timberwolves. The schedule favored the home team with the Suns resting and practicing for two days while the Wolves had two straight games before traveling to Phoenix for the their third in three nights.

Now things get more serious with the Los Angeles Clippers coming in on Friday night for a national TV tilt. Both the Suns and Clippers are playing with no rest and while the Clips did have to travel from Sacramento (they beat the Kings), they are the far younger team.

This game should be yet another test for the Suns. If they have any hopes of turning around their season and making the playoffs, this is the kind of game, at home, that they will need to win. Based on their performance so far this season, it's hard to be too optimistic about that result. But if nothing else, this game should be fun with Lob City in town.

Projected Lineups:

• Point guard: Steve Nash --- Chris Paul
• Shooting guard: Jared Dudley -- Randy Foye
• Small forward: Grant Hill -- Caron Butler
• Power forward: Channing Frye -- Blake Griffin
• Center: Marcin Gortat -- DeAndre Jordan
• Key subs: Suns (Markieff Morris, Shannon Brown, Sebastian Telfair, Robin Lopez). Clippers (Mo Williams, Bobby Simmons, Kenyon Martin, Reggie Evans, Eric Beldsoe)

TV broadcast info:

The Suns game tips off at 7:00 p.m. Arizona time on Fox Sports Arizona and ESPN. Arizona Sports 620 radio. Bright Side of the Sun will have the live game thread.

Phoenix Suns Down Minnesota Timberwolves To Open Second Half Of Season, 104-95

The Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves squared off Thursday night in a battle of rested and rusty against tired and sloppy. The resulting ugly basketball game did no credit to either side or the National Basketball Association. In the end, one team did win the contest...seemingly by default.

The Suns got their act together first after about 33 minutes of ugly play and got the win. The spark started late in the third quarter and powered a 11-4 run that gave Phoenix a lead they were able to nurse to the finish line.

Grant Hill had 15 of his team-high 20 points in that third quarter and brought exceptional energy on the defensive end for his entire 37 minutes of play. The 39-year-old great looked rested and lively and locked in. The same could not be said for all of his mates.

Also deserving some praise was Shannon Brown and Robin Lopez who both played well in their fourth quarter stints. Lopez had six rebounds and two blocks in 13 minutes of play while Brown added 12 points off the bench in 24 minutes of action.

In the Steve Nash vs. Ricky Rubio battle, it was Nash with 13 points, 17 assists and eight rebounds while his Spanish understudy recorded 13 points and just two dimes.

"He's one of the best players ever and you always try to be close to them. He knows how to play, he's smart and like I said, he's one of the best ever. He knows how to control the game and he passes very well, which option he has to find for the team and he just runs it and does it," Rubio said about Nash.

"It was great to play against him and see first hand what type of player he is. He definitely lives up to billing. Very, very good player, clever, and plays with a great energy," Nash said about Rubio.

The Suns held the Timberwolves to 39 percent shooting and won the battle of the boards 44-37. That allowed them to overcome 11 first half turnovers (16 total) and beat the Wolves in the paint 44-36.

The Suns plays Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers while the Wolves are happy to have survived their third game in three nights without losing their lunch all over the court.

Phoenix Suns Vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: TV Schedule, Lineups And First Look At New Pups

The Suns open the second half of their season at home against the much-improved Timberwolves who are led by Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and former UA Wildcat, Derrick Williams.