Suns defeat Bucks to keep winning streak alive

MILWAUKEE — Not even the dangerously cold wind chills currently gripping the Upper Midwest were enough to cool off the red-hot Phoenix Suns, who had won three in a row and eight of their last 10 heading into a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night.

Sure, they got off to a bit of a slow start, but Phoenix found its groove at just the right time, hitting six of its last seven shots and eight of forward Markieff Morris’ team-leading 26 points to notch a 102-96 victory.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. “There were a lot of turnovers and a lot of missed shots but we got it going a little bit in the second half, scoring 59 points. We played more like we were capable of playing.”

Down one at halftime, the Suns overcame a 12-4 Milwaukee run in the third that put the Bucks up, 66-60 with 3:17 left in the period. But the Suns recovered quickly and knocked down 3-pointers on their final two possessions of the period to get within one heading into the fourth.

“I thought the guys played with a lot of energy and made some defensive plays that turned into good offensive plays,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “We got the lead and got back into the fight but just couldn’t close the door.”

Phoenix went 10-for-18 in the final quarter and turned the ball over just once while holding Milwaukee to 41 percent shooting and forcing three turnovers.

“Our guards did a good job,” Hornacek said. “We had one little breakdown when Middleton got the 3-pointer in the corner but other than that, our guards did a good job of keeping them in front then we didn’t have to help.”

Morris added 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Phoenix also got 16 from shooting guard Goran Tragic and 10 from point guard Eric Bledsoe, who also had 10 assists, while sharing ball-handling duties with Isiah Thomas, who hit 5 of 8 shots for 19 points with four rebounds.

Thomas went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the second quarter and scored 10 as the Suns crawled out of a 10-point deficit to make it a 44-43 game at the break.

The Bucks struggled to shoot in the first half, connecting at a 44 percent clip, but point guard Knight sunk five shots, including a pair of 3-pointers and had 12 at the break. He added 12 more in the third to give him a team-high 26 for the night, but he only had three attempts in the final quarter, missing two.

Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his second consecutive double-double, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds while forward John Henson and shooting guard Khris Middleton each tallied 13.

“We were in the game and had the opportunity to beat one of the hottest teams in the league,” Kidd said. “We just couldn’t get the ball to bounce our way.”

Down by as many as seven in the fourth, Henson found Middleton for a 3-pointer from the corner to make it a one-possession game with 1:45 to play but a Morris 3-pointer with 43 seconds left restored Phoenix’s seven-point advantage and Milwaukee dropped its fourth consecutive home game.

NOTES: Despite battling illnesses, Bucks SG O.J. Mayo and G/F Jared Dudley were suited up and available Tuesday night. … The Suns began the day second in the league in bench scoring, averaging 44.1 points per night. That figure is second only to the Bucks, whose reserves are averaging 44.3 per game. … Bucks C Larry Sanders missed his seventh consecutive game with what the team has called “personal issues” but spoke with reporters for the first time since the start of his absence and rebuffed a report that claimed members of his circle told a reporter that Sanders wanted to quit basketball. “That’s not true,” Sanders said. “What is true, I will say, is that I’m in the process of working things out internally to do what’s best for my psych and my physical health going forward. There is a lot of evaluating going on. There’s a lot of side talk just to put myself in the best place for my health right now.” Sanders, in the first year of a four-year, $44 million extension signed before last season, wouldn’t elaborate on the issues he is facing and said he had no timetable for returning to the Bucks. He also said he wouldn’t join the team when it travels to Philadelphia Wednesday.