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Wednesday, Nov. 17 9:00pm ET
Suns pull away in third, rout woeful Bulls | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
PHOENIX (AP) -- The Phoenix Suns snapped their three-game losing streak, but they weren't that excited by the victory. Penny Hardaway and Tom Gugliotta each scored 18 points as the Suns routed the woeful Chicago Bulls 105-81 Wednesday night. "It was just Chicago," said Phoenix guard Jason Kidd, who had 11 assists. "It's not San Antonio and it's not the Lakers, so we can't get too excited." Rodney Rogers scored 16 points, Luc Longley 13 and Shawn Marion 11 for the Suns. "We haven't had the effort we wanted," said Hardaway, who hit 7-of-10 from the field. "As much talent as we have on this team, there should never be a game where we don't have effort." The Suns swept the season series against Chicago for the first time since 1982-83, the season before Michael Jordan arrived. Elton Brand scored 19 and Ron Artest added 14 for the Bulls, who are 0-4 on the road and 1-7 overall. Chicago has lost 16 of 17 away from home dating back to last season. "One of the things we accomplished was that we got them in a half-court game in the first half, but we didn't guard at all in the half-court," said Chicago coach Tim Floyd. "(After halftime), we didn't come out believing that we had an opportunity to win." Hardaway and Oliver Miller each scored four points as the Suns closed the third quarter with a 15-4 run to take a 82-61 lead. The Bulls were 4-of-18 from the field and committed nine turnovers in the period. "In the second half we did a much better job of not letting them get good looks at the basket," said Gugliotta, who had 11 rebounds. "It's a good win because we needed a win. But it's not the level of team we want to compete against late in the season and in the playoffs." Longley scored 11 points in the first quarter, including a three-point play that put the Suns ahead for good at 17-15. Phoenix stretched the lead to 34-23 on Rogers' 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining in the first quarter before Corey Benjamin cut the lead to single digits on a 3-pointer with 46.9 seconds left. "We closed it down to nine but Phoenix kept playing hard and got the lead back up to 20," Brand said. "It's tough not to get frustrated. We're coming in and trying to steal the game." The Suns took their biggest lead of the half, 59-46, on Gugliotta's layup with 44.1 seconds left in the second quarter, but the Bulls rallied to pull within 61-50 at halftime. Game notesLongley, a member of the Bulls when the teams last met in Phoenix on Nov. 20, 1997, hit 5 of his first 7 shots. ... Chicago activated Benjamin and forward Lari Ketner before the game and placed forward Dickey Simpkins and guard Fred Hoiberg on the injured list. ... Clifford Robinson, who jammed his right wrist in the Suns' loss to the L.A. Lakers on Monday, did not dress. ... The Bulls' Hersey Hawkins played in his 519th consecutive game. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Chicago Clubhouse Phoenix Clubhouse Disappointed Suns owner Colangelo wants changes
RECAPS Boston 114 Cleveland 103
Phoenix 105
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