Phoenix Suns’ winning streak comes to an end in New Orleans: By the Numbers
Dec 31, 2014, 3:43 AM | Updated: 4:06 am
The Phoenix Suns’ six-game winning streak came to an end in a fashion that has become all too familiar dating back to last season: They were outplayed in a close contest down the stretch.
Led by Anthony Davis’ 19 points and 18 rebounds, the New Orleans Pelicans edged the visiting Suns 110-106 Tuesday to pull even with their Western Conference rivals in the loss column.
The Suns (18-15) trailed by as many as 14 points in the first quarter, but they rallied to take a 79-75 advantage late in the third. The advantage was short-lived, however, as the Pelicans (16-15) scored the final six points of the quarter to retake the lead.
Phoenix wouldn’t go away, turning a 95-89 Pelicans lead into a 100-100 tie thanks to five points from Markieff Morris. But as has often been the case for the Suns since last season, they were outplayed in crunch time, as New Orleans outscored Phoenix 10-6 in the final two minutes.
Tyreke Evans scored six straight points down the stretch as part of his game-high 24, and his two free throws with 14 seconds left put New Orleans ahead 108-104. After Eric Bledsoe hit a pair of free throws, Jimmer Fredette knocked down two more from the foul line to ice the game with 10 seconds left.
Here’s how the Suns’ winning streak came to an end in The Big Easy, by the numbers:
3
Suns forward Marcus Morris picked up a technical foul for the third straight game. Morris was whistled for an offensive foul after sweeping his leg out on a 3-point attempt that tripped up the Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson. Morris was called for a tech for arguing the call.
5 (part I)
After the Suns limited the Lakers to four offensive rebounds in Sunday’s win in Los Angeles, Davis had five offensive boards on his own Tuesday. New Orleans out-rebounded Phoenix 49-38, including 13-11 on the offensive end, for the game.
5 (part II)
The Suns’ five-game road winning streak also came to an end Tuesday. Their previous loss away from home was a 112-88 blowout defeat at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 14. The Suns have a chance for payback when they visit the Thunder again Wednesday.
6
A bright spot for the Suns: They turned the ball over just six times Tuesday. They came into the game averaging 14.6 turnovers per contest.
20
Point guard Isaiah Thomas had one of his worst games in a Suns uniform, shooting just 2-of-10 (20 percent) from the floor. His airball on an open 3-pointer in the final seconds was a fitting end to his evening.
43
Bledsoe and Dragic combined for 43 points on 16-of-30 shooting. Bledsoe added eight rebounds; he’s averaging 8.3 boards in his last six games.
