Aaron Gordon has 22 points, Magic beat Suns 128-112
PHOENIX (AP) - Aaron Gordon scored 22 points and Nikola Vucevic added 19 to help the balanced Orlando Magic beat the Phoenix Suns 128-112 on Friday night.
Terrence Ross and reserve Jonathon Simmons scored 17 points apiece and Evan Fournier had 14 for the Magic. They have won two straight to reach 8-5, their best start in five seasons.
TJ Warren had 20 points and rookie forward Josh Jackson had a career-high 18 points for the Suns. They have lost five straight to drop to 4-9.
Suns scoring leader Devin Booker, covered most of the game by Ross, scored nine points on 3-of-10 shooting, tying a season low in scoring. He was averaging 22.3 points.
Alex Len had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Michael James scored 18 points for Phoenix.
Gordon made a 3-pointer and a 17-footer and Fournier hit two free throws to give the Magic an 82-67 lead with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the third period.
Jackson had 14 points in the second quarter, and he had back-to-back layups as the Suns used a 16-5 run to take their biggest lead, 56-50 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half.
GOING DEEP
Magic F Aaron Gordon has expanded his range to great effect this season. He was averaging 19.3 points entering the game while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 57.5 percent from 3-point range, second in the league. He had made 23 3s. "I think it's just hard work," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "Four years of knowing that he wants to improve his shooting and working at it." Gordon shot 28.8 percent from 3-point range last season, making a career-high 57.
TIP-INS
Magic: A pass-first approach has helped the Magic to 40.6 percent shooting from three-point range entering the game, second in the NBA and a huge jump from 32.8 percent last season. "That's our ticket to success this season," Vogel said. "The pass makes the game easy." ... G D.J. Augustin (hamstring) and F Adreian Payne (fractured finger) did not dress. ... The Magic have three more games on their four-game, six-day trip that includes stops in Denver and Golden State and concludes in Portland on Wednesday.
Suns: F Jared Dudley suffered a right knee sprain when teammate Josh Jackson fell into him on a play under the Magic basket. Dudley immediately left the game and went to the Suns' locker room. ... C Greg Monroe (calf) reported to the Suns on Friday but is likely to remain out for another week, coach Jay Triano said. Monroe was acquired from Milwaukee with two draft picks for G Eric Bledsoe this week, has been dealing with the injury for two weeks. ... Len made his second straight start with Tyson Chandler (back spasms) out. . Triano, on practice plans moving forward: "We're using our shootarounds as practices. Trying to put in a lot of things that maybe we should have covered We're basically conducting training camp right now, and we probably will be for the next two months."
UP NEXT
Magic: At Denver on Saturday night.
Suns: Host Minnesota on Saturday night.
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