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PHOENIX (Ticker) -- The Phoenix Suns snapped out of their fourth-quarter funk and avoided their longest slide in nearly four years. Stephon Marbury and Tony Delk combined for 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Suns ended a season-high three-game losing streak with a 102-90 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Phoenix's skid was due mainly to poor performances in the final period. The Suns were held to nine points in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday after getting outscored, 24-4, over the final seven minutes of a loss at Denver three nights earlier. But Marbury and Delk singlehandedly put an end to the Suns' struggles. Marbury scored 14 of his 22 points in the final six minutes and Delk had 13 of his 27 in the fourth. Portland had its largest lead of the fourth quarter, 78-69, with 7:17 to go but was outscored 33-12 thereafter. The Suns made 15-of-21 shots in the fourth quarter, including 6-of-7 3-pointers. "We went to our smaller lineup and decided to go to our zone," Phoenix coach Scott Skiles said. "It had a nice effect on the game." "They made some incredible shots," Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said. "They made some very deep, deep threes. They got on a roll. Delk hurt us the whole game, but late in the game, Marbury took over and made some incredible shots." Penny Hardaway began the Suns' comeback with a 15-foot jumper and Delk sank a 3-pointer before Marbury's layup brought Phoenix within 78-76 at 5:44. Damon Stoudamire's 3-pointer gave the Blazers an 85-80 lead 87 seconds later before Marbury had all the points in a 12-0 run to put Phoenix ahead for good. "He just made shots," Skiles said of Marbury. "He was playing with a lot of confidence and he just made shots. You could tell he was feeling good about himself." "The most important thing when you get into a situation like that is to continue to stay focused on what you're trying to do, and that's win a ballgame," Marbury said. After making 1-of-2 free throws, the All-Star guard nailed a 3-pointer to close the deficit to 85-84 with 3:40 left. He gave the Suns the lead with a runner off the glass with 3:02 to go. Marbury made consecutive 3-pointers around a turnaround jumper by Rasheed Wallace and missed a layup with 1:15 to go. But Shawn Marion followed with a dunk for an 87-84 lead. Delk, who made 3-of-7 3-pointers, sank a shot from beyond the arc with 46 seconds left to seal the victory for Phoenix, which scored 42 points in the fourth quarter to avoid its first four-game losing streak since January 22-February 1, 1997. Marbury made 4-of-6 3-pointers, helping the Suns shoot 48 percent (40-of-83). They made 9-of-17 3-pointers. Rodney Rogers scored 18 points off the bench and Marion finished with 16 and seven rebounds. Delk made 9-of-14 shots and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds, contributing to Phoenix's 45-39 edge on the glass. "Tony was the biggest reason we were in the game at halftime," Skiles said. "He played with a lot of energy and was really hustling out there. When we had trouble, he came in and gave us a big lift again." Portland had a 23-15 lead with 64 seconds left in the first quarter, but Delk had a layup and tip-in in the final 38 seconds to close the gap. He scored 10 points in the second quarter and Phoenix had a 42-38 halftime edge. "I think coming off the bench, you've got to give energy," Delk said. "We were down and coming in and I was just playing, just bringing energy to get out guys going." The Suns had a 46-43 lead early in the third, but the Blazers reeled off a 17-4 run. Derek Anderson hit a pair of 3-pointers during the burst and capped it with a layup to give Portland a 60-50 lead with 3:12 left. Stoudamire scored a season-high 27 points and Wallace added 19 and 13 rebounds for Portland, which fell to .500 for the 11th time this season. |
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