PHOENIX — Brandan Wright stepped up for injured center Alex Len and produced 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns shook off a poor first quarter to beat the New York Knicks 102-89 Sunday.
Suns guard Eric Bledsoe added 21 points and 11 assists, and he just missed his third triple-double of the season, finishing with eight rebounds. Forward Markieff Morris scored 20 points for the Suns, who stayed three games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
Phoenix (35-33) moved within two games of the ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans, who lost to the Denver Nuggets. The Thunder beat the Chicago Bulls.
Center Andrea Bargnani and guard Alexey Shved had 18 points each for the Knicks, who are 5-30 on the road this season. New York (13-51) completed a 1-4 Western road trip.
Forward Lance Thomas added 14 points for New York, who lost two players during the game: guard Tim Hardaway Jr. with a sprained right wrist and forward Cleanthony Early with a sprained left ankle.
Playing without starters Len and Brandon Knight (ankle sprains), the Suns committed seven turnovers in the first quarter and watched the Knicks build an 11-point lead. Shved had seven points and capped an 11-2 New York run with a 3-pointer to make it 29-18.
The Knicks still led 46-38 with 3:51 left in the half before the Suns came alive and closed with a 9-1 run, climbing within 48-47 on a driving dunk by Bledsoe with 8.9 second left.
Phoenix began to pull away in the third quarter, opening with a 14-5 run and getting nine points from forward Marcus Morris (14 points). Center Earl Barron hit two jumpers in the final 2:02 and the Suns took a 75-66 lead to the fourth.
New York got as close as four points on two Bargnani free throws with 9:39 left, but the Suns answered with a 17-5 run to put the game away. Phoenix posted its biggest lead of the game at 96-80 on a Marcus Morris layup with 4:45 left.
NOTES: Suns C Alex Len missed a game for the third time this season due to a sprained right ankle. … The Knicks and Suns met for the 120th time, and the series is tied 60-60. The Suns led the series only once — 1-0, after taking the first meeting 109-92 on Oct. 24, 1968, in Phoenix. It was the fourth game in Suns history. … Knicks coach Derek Fisher played 33 games in US Airways Center, the most of any opposing player. For active players: Tim Duncan (31), Kobe Bryant (29), Dirk Nowitzki (29) and Kevin Garnett (27) are close behind. … The Suns came into the game averaging 18.7 fastbreak points per game, second in the NBA to Golden State (20.8). The Knicks are last in the league, averaging 8.5 fastbreak points. Phoenix finished with a 21-8 edge in that category Sunday.