Suns 101, Kings 90
PHOENIX -- Shannon Brown scored 14 of his 22 points during Phoenix's 31-point third quarter, and the Suns rallied from a miserable first half and a 19-point deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings 101-90 Monday night.
Jared Dudley scored 20, Luis Scola had 14 points and a career-high 10 assists, and Marcin Gortat added 14 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks for the Suns.
Phoenix won its season-best third game in a row following a seven-game losing streak. The Suns rallied from a double-digit deficit for the sixth time in eight home wins.
Sacramento lost its fifth straight game.
Down 54-35 with just over two minutes left in the first half, Phoenix went on a 43-16 run. Brown ended his big third quarter with a driving layup with 21.5 seconds left to give the Suns a 74-68 lead.
Jimmer Fredette, who was 0-for-11 from the field in three games against the Suns last year, led his team with a career-high 22 points off the bench. The Kings, who were throttled at home by Golden State Sunday, played without two of their three leading scorers (Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton) and got a miserable 1-for-10, shooting performance from DeMarcus Cousins. But they still had enough to beat up on the listless Suns in the first half.
Up 14-8 in the first period, the Suns missed 11 consecutive shots -- they missed 17 of 23 in the first quarter overall - and the Kings went on a 19-2 run over a five-minute span to take over the game. Fredette, who had all 12 of his first-half points in the second quarter, hit a 3-pointer to cap the run and give the Kings a 27-16 lead.
Sacramento went on another 15-6 run midway through the quarter, with two Fredette free throws putting the Kings up by 19 at 52-33. The Suns closed the half with an 8-0 spurt, with Dudley's three-pointer cutting the halftime deficit to 54-43.
Brown took over in the third quarter, scoring 10 of Phoenix's first 16 points and capping a run of seven straight with a three-pointer from the deep corner to give the Suns a 59-58 lead with 6:18 left. Phoenix never trailed again.
Cousins, who averaged 27.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in three games against the Suns last year, scored seven of his nine points from the line.
NOTES: Evans, who left after just 10 minutes in Sunday's ugly 122-97 home loss to Denver, tried out his sore left knee pregame but sat out for the sixth time in the last nine games. Francisco Garcia again got the start in place of Evans. ... The Suns entered the game with six players averaging between 10 and 15 points a game, one of six NBA teams to have six players averaging in double figures -- Goran Dragic (15.0), Brown (12.3), Scola (12.1), Michael Beasley (11.1), Gortat (11.0) and Dudley (10.0). ... Guard Marcus Thornton remained with his mother (illness) and was not with the Kings for a third straight game. He is back in Sacramento and should be ready for Wednesday's home game against Golden State. ... The Suns held their previous two opponents under 85 points (Memphis 80, Utah 84). That's the first time they've limited back-to-back opponents to 85 points or fewer in more than eight years (Nov. 23-27, 2004). ... The Kings led after the first quarter (22-16) for only the sixth time in 24 games.
