Suns vs. Grizzlies: Suns snap seven-game skid, upset Grizzlies

The Phoenix Suns finally put an end to their seven-game losing streak with an 82-80 upset of the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

SB Nation's Dave King of Bright Side of the Sun chalked up the Suns' huge win to the team's effective defense and head coach Alvin Gentry's implementation of zone defense.

Gentry loved the defense, that Randolph did not score much in the game after getting 10 in the first few minutes after tipoff. It looked like a long night for the Suns, but they adjusted and Randolph only scored eight points the rest of the way.

The Suns even threw in some zone, which they had hardly used at all this season, and it was effective. The Grizzlies struggled to score in the final eight minutes of the first half (only 7 points after taking a 36-25 lead) with the Suns playing a lot of zone defense in that time.

King also noted that the Suns' excellent job on the boards against a good-rebounding Memphis team was a key to the win.

Dudley (9), Brown (7), Dragic (5) and Beasley (6 in 10 minutes) combined for nearly as many rebounds by themselves as the Suns had in total on Sunday night against Orlando. They were active and aggressive on the boards against a really big team with Randolph and Gasol out there.

Phoenix (8-15) will try to make it two in a row when the Suns play host to the Utah Jazz (13-10) on Friday night at the US Airways Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Arizona.