Suns 111, Hornets 106
Isaiah Thomas matched his season high with 23 points and Goran Dragic added 20 points and eight assists as Phoenix rallied past Charlotte to halt a six-game losing streak.
Gerald Green scored 16 points and Eric Bledsoe added 15 for the Suns, who trailed most of the contest before taking the lead with under two minutes remaining. Markieff Morris contributed 13 points and eight rebounds and Alex Len had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Al Jefferson had 28 points and 10 rebounds and Kemba Walker added 27 points and seven assists for the Bobcats, who have lost four straight games and 14 of their last 16. Gary Neal tallied 13 points and Brian Roberts added 10.
Phoenix kept pushing in the fourth quarter and finally overtook Charlotte at 105-104 on Bledsoe’s basket with 1:44 remaining. Thomas scored four straight Suns’ points to make it 109-106 with 19.9 seconds left and Neal missed a 3-pointer for the Hornets before Phoenix’s P.J. Tucker hit two free throws for a five-point margin.
Charlotte opened the second quarter with a 19-6 surge to open up a 17-point lead on Cody Zeller’s basket with 7:01 left in the half. The Hornets led 61-54 at the break and moved ahead by 11 on Walker’s driving hoop with 3:10 left in the third quarter, but Green scored the final five of the quarter as Phoenix trimmed its deficit to 87-83 entering the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Zeller had seven points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes despite breaking his nose in Monday’s game against Cleveland. … Green and Thomas each made three 3-pointers for the Suns. … Walker has four 20-point outings this month after recording none in November.