Suns 104, Magic 96
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Point guard Goran Dragic had 23 points and 13 assists, leading the fast-breaking Phoenix Suns to a 104-96 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night at the Amway Center.
The Suns (7-6) got 20 points from guard Gerald Green, who started in place of Eric Bledsoe, and 16 points from reserve forward Marcus Morris. Forward Markieff Morris had 12 points.
The Magic (4-9) were led by center Nikola Vucevic with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Andrew Nicholson added 19 points.
The Suns scored 18 fast-break points to the Magic's six.
After trailing almost the entire game, the Magic close to within three points twice late in the game, but Dragic came to the rescue by scoring seven consecutive points for the Suns in the final two minutes.
Suns veteran forward Channing Frye had nine of his 14 points in the final period.
The Suns led 88-74 early in the fourth, but the Magic kept whittling away at the deficit. Nicholson hit his third 3-pointer, allowing the Magic to close to 93-90.
Phoenix took a 80-72 lead into the fourth. The Magic cut the deficit to three points midway in the period, but Green immediately answered with a 3-pointer.
The Suns led 53-44 at intermission, riding a fast start by Green, who had 15 points in the first half, including 13 in the first quarter when he hit three of five 3-point shots. He finished 4-for-9 from 3-point range.
The Suns led by 10 after the first quarter and by as many as 13 points in the second period. Nicholson had 10 points in 11 first-half minutes.
The Morris twins entered late in the first quarter and kept the Suns rolling through the second, combining for 15 points in the first half.
The Suns play the Heat on Monday in Miami. The Magic travel to Atlanta to face the Hawks on Tuesday.
NOTES: The Magic activated F Tobias Harris for the first time this season. Harris, who averaged 17.3 points in 27 games for Orlando last season, was sidelined since sustaining a high ankle sprain during an exhibition contest. Harris, now in his third NBA season, is a first cousin to F Channing Frye of the Suns. ... The Suns were without G Eric Bledsoe (bruised left shin) for the fourth consecutive game. Replacing him in the lineup was Gerald Green, who was expected to be Phoenix's top reserve this season but already has eight starts . ... The Suns are one of the two NBA teams without a loss of 10 or more points this season. The other is the Miami Heat. The Suns, under first-year coach Jeff Hornacek, are surprisingly entertaining this season, leading the league in fast-break points (22.5 per game). "I'm happy how hard we've been playing night in and night out," Hornacek said. "Only or two games haven't been like that.". ... . . . Magic F Glen Davis played well in his season debut Saturday night in a loss at Miami. He was still wearing a bandage below his right eye Sunday, covering the three-stitch cut he received Saturday from an elbow to the face by Heat F LeBron James. Davis scored six points Sunday.
