Suns take short way past Bulls
PHOENIX -- Devin Booker and Eric Bledsoe combined for 50 points and the Phoenix Suns used a small-ball lineup to beat the Chicago Bulls 115-97 on Friday night.
Booker scored 27 points and Bledsoe had 23 for the Suns, who played without center Alex Len (suspended) and lost center Tyson Chandler to a sprained right ankle before halftime.
But Phoenix led by 13 at the half and Chicago never got closer than six points in the second half.
Reserve Alan Williams stepped up with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in 24 minutes for the Suns (17-37). In the four NBA games in which he has played at least 17 minutes, Williams had four double-doubles.
T.J. Warren added 16 points for the Suns, who have 11 of their 17 wins this season against the Eastern Conference (11-7). They are 6-30 against the West.
Jimmy Butler scored 20 points and Dwyane Wade had 18 for the Bulls (26-28), who were blown out 123-92 by the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. They lost to another fast-breaking team in the Suns, who outscored them 19-6 in fast-break points and 58-48 on points in the paint.
With Wade and Butler back in the starting lineup, the Bulls used a 17-4 run in the first quarter and took a 25-16 lead on a Doug McDermott jumper with 2:01 left. Butler had eight points in the quarter to lead Chicago.
The Suns ended the quarter on a 12-1 run of their own, with Marquese Chriss and Booker both hitting 3-pointers in the final 31 seconds to give the Suns a 28-26 advantage.
Booker had all 13 of his first-half points in the quarter.
The Bulls scored just 17 points in the second quarter -- six in the final 8:59 -- and the Suns caught fire late.
Warren had eight points in the final 3:38 and Phoenix scored the final eight points of the half, with P.J. Tucker's layup just before halftime giving them their biggest lead a 56-43.
NOTES: Suns C Alex Len served his one game NBA suspension for leaving the bench and entering the court during the 110-91 loss at the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 8. "We are already the smallest, shortest team in the NBA so not having Alex or (Dragan) Bender (right ankle surgery) makes us really small on our second unit," Phoenix coach Earl Watson said. ... Bulls F Paul Zipser (knee) sat out. ... Suns F P.J. Tucker has at least one steal in 15 straight games, including a career-high seven against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 4. ... Phoenix entered the game leading the NBA in average free throws a game (26.2) while the Bulls were last at (18.5). ... The last time the two teams met was 14 months ago (Dec. 7, 2015), when the Suns scored 42 points in the fourth quarter and rallied from 16 down to win 103-101 at the United Center.