Suns at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors will try to rebound from their worst offensive performance of the season when they return home Sunday to take on one of the league's worst defensive teams in the Phoenix Suns. The Raptors shot 33.7 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 51-33 in a 113-78 loss at Charlotte on Friday, which capped a 1-2 road trip.
"We've been in a little funk lately," point guard Kyle Lowry told reporters. "We're not playing on all cylinders right now. I just think it's that time of year. No excuses at all, there's just this mental fatigue." Lowry scored 24 points and DeMar DeRozan added 23 while six reserves combined for 14 points on 6-of-27 shooting as Toronto fell to 6-7 over its last 13 games. One of those seven setbacks came at Phoenix on Dec. 29, a 99-91 final in which Suns guard Eric Bledsoe went for 22 points. Bledsoe had 23 points and Devin Booker finished with 26 as the Suns outlasted the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Saturday, improving to 1-1 on their three-game road trip.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE SUNS (14-29): Center Tyson Chandler hauled in 16 rebounds against the Knicks to set a franchise record with his seventh consecutive game of at least 15 boards. Booker boasts eight straight games with at least 20 points and he has made 32-of-33 free throws in a four-game span. Bledsoe, who was 10-for-10 from the line Saturday, played 39 turnover-free minutes and owns 35 assists against nine giveaways in the last four contests.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (28-15): Forward DeMarre Carroll played 26 minutes through a neck injury suffered two days earlier in a loss at Philadelphia, but the issue has derailed some recent progress on the offensive end. After averaging 18.8 points over a four-game span earlier in the month, he is down to 3.7 while shooting 4-for-21 in the past three contests. Big man Jared Sullinger has posted 11 total points in two games since returning from a foot injury and guard Delon Wright - who has yet to play this season due to a shoulder injury - was active for the first time against the Hornets but did not see any action.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Phoenix has won nine of the last 11 games in Toronto.
2. Lowry is shooting 49.3 percent from 3-point range at home.
3. Chandler is averaging 17 rebounds during his seven-game streak.