Bledsoe, Booker guide Suns past Raptors
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Eric Bledsoe had 22 points and 10 assists and Devin Booker added 19 points in the Phoenix Suns' 99-91 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Thursday.
Forward P.J. Tucker had 14 points and center Tyson Chandler had 13 rebounds as the Suns (10-23) won for the second time in seven games. They are 7-4 against the East this season.
Guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had 24 points apiece for the Raptors (22-10), which shot 40.0 percent from the field and made 7-of-27 3-point field goal attempts while tying a season low in points.
DeRozan scored five points in 28 seconds when the Raptors cut the lead to 90-85 with 3:25 remaining, but Booker scored the next six points on a three-point play and a 3-pointer to make it 96-85, and Toronto was never closer than seven points.
Rookie guard Tyler Ulis tied a career high with 10 points off the bench as the Suns shot 44.6 percent and had a 47-43 rebounding edge.
Cory Joseph added 15 points off the bench for Toronto, which lost its second straight game for the first time this month. It fell at Golden State on Wednesday and will finish a six-game road trip at the Lakers and San Antonio next week.
The Suns used a 16-2 run midway through the third quarter to break open a tight game and take a 62-50 lead. Bledsoe and Tucker had five points apiece in that stretch.
T.J. Warren's 10-footer as time expired in the third quarter capped a 30-14 run for a 76-62 edge, the Suns' biggest lead. The Raptors had 21 field goals and 14 turnovers through three quarters.
The Suns committed nine turnovers in a sloppy first quarter by both sides, when Toronto made 6-of-18 field goals but still led, 18-16.
The Suns had 15 turnovers at halftime but led, 42-40, behind 13 points and four assists from Bledsoe. Toronto shot 35.9 percent from the field in the first half.
NOTES: Toronto G DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points at Golden State on Wednesday and moved past C Chris Bosh as the franchise's career leading scorer. DeRozan has 10,314 points. Bosh had 10,275 before leaving for Miami in 2010. ... Suns rookie F Dragan Bender became the youngest player in franchise history to record a double-double when he had 11 points and 13 rebounds at Houston on Monday, at 19 years, 39 days. Bender was the NBA youngest player with at least 13 rebounds since Lakers C Andrew Bynum on Nov. 29, 2006. ... The Raptors' only faster start came in 2014-15, when they were 24-8 after 32 games. ... Raptors F DeMarre Carroll started the second game of back-to-back games Thursday and played 18:36. Carroll, returning from offseason knee surgery, sat the last time the Raptors played back-to-back games, on Dec. 9 against Boston.