The Phoenix Suns (15-24) defeated the Charlotte Hornets (17-18) 111-102 on Wednesday night.
In a battle of two struggling teams, the home team prevailed in a much needed way. Phoenix came into this game in the midst of a nine-game losing streak and ended up pulling away with some good offense as a small underdog. They shot 49 percent from the field and went 19-for-33 from three-point range in a shooting exhibition. The benches were a huge disparity here, as the Suns bench has three players score 17 or more points, while the Hornets had only one bench player score more than five.
The Hornets have now lost five-straight and they are now below .500 for the first time since the middle of November. It's clear the injury to Nicolas Batum is really hurting this team, as they can't get anything going on either end of the floor. Kemba Walker has been playing at an all-time level recently though, but he can't do it all himself. He tallied 25 points, six assists and four rebounds in yet another great game. All five starters scored in double-figures actually, but they simply allowed the Suns to run up and down the floor on them far too often. Charlotte will look to end this slide on Saturday against the surging Los Angeles Clippers.
The Suns needed a win as bad as any team in the NBA and they finally got one here. The amazing part is that they did it with defense, by holding the Hornets to 17 points in the final quarter. Brandon Knight was the star of the show, as he totaled 18 points, seven assists and three rebounds in the victory. The bench was fantastic as well, as T.J. Warren, Devin Booker, and Mirza Teletovic all scored between 17 and 19 points while combining for 21 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Without Eric Bledsoe for the rest of the season, they need more team performances like this going forward in order to dig out of this deep hole they've dug themselves. Phoenix's next game will be on Friday when they host the Miami Heat in a difficult matchup.
