Bucks 101, Suns 95
PHOENIX -- Forward Kris Middleton scored nine of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied from a 15-point third quarter deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 101-95 on Sunday.
Guard Michael Carter-Williams had 20 points for the Bucks (11-18), and center Greg Monroe added 13, including the layup with 20.6 seconds left that gave the Bucks the lead for good at 97-95.
The Suns had a chance to tie, but Carter-Williams stole the ball from guard Eric Bledsoe, and Middleton iced the game with four free throws in the final five seconds.
The Bucks had lost 20 straight games in Phoenix from 1992-2012, but have now won three of the last four.
Guard T.J. Warren had 14 of his 18 points in the first half for the Suns (12-17), and Bledsoe also had 18 for the Suns, who led 68-53 in the third quarter. But the Suns watched the Bucks storm back with three straight 3-pointers -- two by rookie guard Rashad Vaughn and one by Middleton -- to take an 88-86 lead with 5:07 left.
Forward P.J. Tucker had 12 points and seven rebounds for Phoenix.
Middleton and Monroe combined for 13 of Milwaukee's first 19 points to get the Bucks off to a good start. Middleton followed two Monroe layups with a 3-pointer to give Milwaukee an early 11-point lead at 19-8 with 5:39 left.
But the Suns finished the quarter with a 13-4 run, with forward Markieff Morris scoring seven off the bench during that span. He scored five in the final 37.5 seconds -- a 3-pointer and two free throws -- to pull Phoenix within 27-26 at the end of the quarter.
The second period belonged to Warren, who made six of seven shots and scored 12 points in nine minutes to put the Suns in front. He had eight points during a 13-5 Phoenix run, and a 3-pointer by forward Mirza Teletovic gave the Suns their biggest lead at 44-35 with 4:20 left.
Carter-Williams had six points in the quarter for the Bucks, who trailed 53-45 at the half.
The Suns had a strong opening to the third quarter and two free throws by guard Brandon Knight gave them their biggest lead at 68-53 with 5:43 left.
But the Bucks closed the quarter with a 15-3 run, with Middleton scoring twice in the final 1:21, including a 19-footer with 3.2 seconds left to shave the Phoenix lead to one at 71-70.
NOTES: Suns C Tyson Chandler moved into 54th place on the all-time NBA rebounding list on Friday with 8,712 rebounds. Next on the list is Milwaukee Bucks coach and former Sun Jason Kidd, who is 53rd with 8,725 boards. Chandler and Kidd won an NBA championship together with the Dallas Mavericks in 2010-11. ... Suns C Alex Len blocked one shot Sunday, giving him at least one block in 12 straight games, the longest streak since Marcin Gortat did it in 14 straight from April 21-Nov. 17, 2102. ... Kidd on Suns G Brandon Knight, whom he coached in Milwaukee: "He works extremely hard at his craft. He's a point guard with speed who can see the floor and a true professional on and off the floor. I'm happy for what he's done." ... The Bucks came into the game ranked second in the NBA in points in the paint at 47.8, just behind the Sacramento Kings (48.2). ... Milwaukee has had seven players score in double figures four times this season, the most in the league.