Suns 121, Bobcats 104
PHOENIX -- Shannon Brown scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter and accounted for five of Phoenix's 17 3-pointers as the Suns handed the Charlotte Bobcats their NBA-worst 13th straight loss in decisive fashion Wednesday, 121-104.
Brown, who set a franchise record six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of a 117-110 win at Charlotte on Nov. 7, made seven of 10 shots in the third quarter as the Suns opened a 30-point lead. Brown has 50 total points in two games against the Bobcats this season, his two highest-scoring games of the year.
Phoenix (11-15) has followed a seven-game losing streak with four straight wins.
Goran Dragic had 21 points and 11 assists, and Jared Dudley added 20 for the Suns, who set a season high for points. Brown, Dragic and Dudley were a combined 13-for-20 from 3-point range, with each hitting at least four.
Kemba Walker scored 27 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 25 points for the Bobcats, who blew an 18-point point lead in Los Angeles on Tuesday in a 101-100 loss to the Lakers. They didn't have nearly as much fight in Phoenix.
Charlotte cut its 30-point deficit in half at 102-87 with 6:22 left, but Brown's fifth 3-pointer of the night ended the threat.
The Bobcats (7-18) haven't won a game since Nov. 24.
The Suns led 28-27 after one quarter before outscoring Charlotte 22-6 to open the second. Two Luis Scola free throws capped a 9-0 run that gave Phoenix a 50-33 lead.
A 3-pointer by Michael Beasley extended Phoenix's advantage to 20 in the final minute of the half before the Suns settled for a 64-46 lead at the break. The Suns' bench outscored the Bobcats' reserve 34-4 in the half, with Sebastian Telfair and P.J. Tucker combining for 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting.
Brown had just five points in the first half but made up for it quickly in the third. He scored 15 of Phoenix's first 17 points in a span of 4:11, capping it with his third straight 3-pointer to extend the Suns' lead to 81-54.
NOTES: Dudley, a former Charlotte first-round draft pick, has three consecutive 20-point games, the longest streak of his career. ... The Suns' win in Charlotte last month was one of only two road wins Phoenix hase so far this season. The other came at Cleveland. ... Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry praised the Bobcats after watching their loss to the Lakers on Tuesday. "I know that they are struggling right now, but that doesn't stop them from playing really hard and competing like crazy," he said. ... Suns center Marcin Gortat blocked six shots in Monday's win over Sacramento, his fourth game with at least five blocks already this season. Only Larry Sanders of Milwaukee (five) has more. Gortat finished with three blocks Wednesday.
