Suns 104, Pelicans 88
PHOENIX -- Guard Eric Bledsoe scored a game-high 29 points and center Alex Len added 19 points and 13 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 104-88 Friday.
Markieff Morris, after being benched for four of the last five games, chipped in 13 points as the Suns (12-16) beat the Pelicans for the first time in three meetings this season.
Bledsoe scored a season-low six points Wednesday when the Suns were blown out 128-103 in Golden State. But he made 12 of 17 shots from the field and added nine assists against the Pelicans.
Forward Jon Leuer (12 points), guard Brandon Knight (12) and guard T.J. Warren (10) all finished in double figures for the Suns, who forced 21 New Orleans turnovers.
Len added the exclamation point with his second career 3-pointer with 14.9 second left.
New Orleans (7-19) shot 37 percent from the field and their top players all struggled. Anthony Davis, who averages 23.3 points, took only four shots in the first half and finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Forward Ryan Anderson missed all three shots he took and scored only three -- 15 under his average.
Guard Eric Gordon had 15 points, but missed nine of his first 10 shots from the field and got nine of his points from the free throw line.
Guard Jru Holiday had 14 points for New Orleans and guard Tyreke Evans and Ish Smith had 12 points each.
Despite committing 12 turnovers, getting just two points from Knight and being outscored 14-1 at the free throw line, the Suns led by as many as 16 points in the first half and outscored New Orleans 30-18 in the paint.
Bledsoe had 11 points in the first quarter and the Suns ended the quarter on a 16-4 run over the final 3:42. Bledsoe start the run with a 3-pointer and Morris -- playing for the first time since Dec. 7 -- finished it with a 3-pointer right before the buzzer to make it 28-17 Suns.
Davis missed the only shot he took in the quarter and had two free throws for the Pelicans, who missed 15 of 21 shots and seven of nine 3-pointers.
The Suns pushed their lead to 35-20 on a layup by forward Mirza Teletovic with 8:42 left before the Pelicans reeled off eight straight points. Davis capped the run with a huge alley-oop slam off a feed by Smith to put New Orleans back within 37-30 with 6:15 left in the half.
But the Suns immediately answered with an 11-2 run and pushed the lead to 46-30, their biggest of the half, on a Leuer layup off a Knight feed with 3:46 to go.
Len had seven points in the quarter and finished with 13 points and nine rebounds at the half, with Phoenix leading 53-42.
The Suns stretched the lead to 17 points at 65-48 on a Bledsoe step-back jumper with 7:24 left in the third quarter.
Gordon had seven points in the quarter for the Pelicans, who got as close as 10 points in the fourth quarter but could never get over the hump.
NOTES: Suns F Mirza Teletovic came into the game with 58 3-pointers this season, the most of any reserve in the NBA. Ryan Anderson was tied for third with 41. With Markieff Morris out of the rotation and reportedly on the trade block, Teletovic has taken advantage of the opportunity. "When Mirza is shooting the ball well, he spreads the floor for our guards," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "Once he got into shape, he has played much better." ... Alvin Gentry had 158 wins as coach of the Suns from 2009-13, fifth most in team history. He also served as an assistant in Phoenix to Mike D'Antoni, who joined former Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo as an associate head coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. "I think he wanted to get back in and he wanted it to be in a certain situation where he thought he could help ... not just come back for the heck of it," Gentry said. "I don't know very many people that say 'no' to Jerry." ... Suns G Eric Bledsoe has 173 career blocked shots, ninth most in NBA history for players 6-foot-1 or shorter. Next up are ex-Suns Earl Watson and Kevin Johnson, who are tied with 176.