DeMarcus Cousins had his way with the Suns' bigs in dropping a career-high 41 points to go with 12 boards, but the Suns prevailed behind Gortat's solid 20-10 effort. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

The Sacramento Kings might be as dangerous as a 19-win ball club can be.

And when DeMarcus Cousins started drop-stepping and spinning off the helpless Marcin Gortat and Robin Lopez, it looked like a 17-point, first half Phoenix lead might eventually turn into a Kings victory.

But the Kings might only be sitting at 19 wins this deep into the season because their talent that comes across as so dangerous also includes volatility — a lot of volatility.

Leading 82-81 less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Sacramento — behind a grumpy-faced Cousins — made enough mistakes to allow Phoenix to string out a lead as big as 12. What concluded was a 109-100 Suns victory in Sacramento on Tuesday night.

Cousins dominated the Phoenix centers en route to a career-high 41 points on top of 12 rebounds, but two turnovers in the fourth quarter and some clear frustration aided Steve Nash and the Suns in rebuilding a large first half lead that had evaporated as quickly as Cousins had gotten going.

Nash scored 18 points on the night including five straight points with about five minutes to go that took a four-point lead to nine, the seeming back-breaker that did in the young Kings. The All-Star point guard also registered 12 assists as all five Suns’ starters scored in double-figures, led by Gortat’s 20 points.

The Suns would go on to score 109 points on 44.4 percent shooting by simply staying calm through two big Sacramento runs.

Now standing at 27-26 on the season, Phoenix avoided what would have been a painful shot toward its playoff hopes. Early on, it looked as if avoiding such a loss was a foregone conclusion.

Phoenix opened up a 43-26 lead with 7:46 to play in the second quarter off a Michael Redd three-ball, but the bench unit then gave up 12 consecutive points to Sacramento as the Suns defense allowed 61 percent shooting in the quarter.

Like the double-digit advantage, a 59-51 halftime lead didn’t last either.

Holding a nine-point lead with three minutes to play in the third, the Suns’ bench entered once again only to let a 12-2 Sacramento push make it a one-point Phoenix lead going into the fourth.

That’s when Redd showed a little initiative that reminded you of his Milwaukee days.

After scoring 10 points to keep the second unit afloat in the second quarter, he scored six points in the fourth, buying enough rest for the starters to return. The veteran went 7-for-14 on the evening to finish with 16 points by way of drives, pull-ups and three-pointers. It was just enough firepower to keep the bench — the four other members combined for only 13 points — on the floor.

Despite continued struggles of the second unit, Tuesday night was all about the starters starting well and ending well.

Phoenix had a 29-18 lead after the first quarter, then outscored the Kings 30-22 in the fourth. It was in the final stanza when the Suns went 11-for-19 from the field and Cousins’ grimacing frown — not to mention some illogical shoving of Channing Frye and Gortat — coincided with his team falling apart down the stretch.

Similarly, Nash settled things down when he returned in the fourth, and Phoenix scored six second chance points in the quarter and capitalized on Sacramento mistakes to hold on for the win.

In the end, Phoenix had out-rebounded the No. 6 rebounding club in the NBA by two, equaled the athletic Kings with 18 fast break points, all while surviving Cousins and a 25-point, seven-assist night from rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas.

Even with Grant Hill’s absence, Shannon Brown and company held Tyreke Evans to eight points on 4-of-13 shooting. And after the big nights from Cousins and Thomas, the only other impactful performance on the Kings came via recent acquisition Terrence Williams, who scored 16 points, dropped five dimes and grabbed six boards off the Sacramento bench.

As the Suns exited the court with the victory, one thing was clear as well.

This wasn’t a win against any cupcake squad. The Suns know how big it was for building momentum as the season shrinks of opportunities, and having it coming against Sacramento despite Cousins’ stellar night and the Kings’ 14-13 home record was a bigger deal than it may appear.

And with a game against Utah tomorrow night that could shift Phoenix into the ninth place in the Western Conference with a win, Tuesday’s victory was worthy of the Suns’ excitement.

And 1

Steve Nash’s back apparently is in bad shape. Nash said that isn’t so, and his comments to Marc Stein before the game saying this is “the best it’s felt in a decade” and his 7-of-12 shooting during it back that up. The original report came out of the New York Post, according to a number of other websites (oddly enough, I can’t find the actual NY Post link). It’s the second time in as many weeks Nash has denied reports coming out of the paper, the first being a Post report that said Nash was in a crummy mood because Phoenix didn’t pursue a Boris Diaw signing.

Nash also told Stein he hopes to “sign for three more years this summer,” which would take him through his age 41 season. John Stockton played about a month as a 41-year-old point guard during his final season in which he averaged 10.8 points and 7.7 assists per game while starting all 82 games.

Suns

Kings

PHOENIX — Fourteen games remain on the Phoenix Suns’ schedule, plenty of time for a team on the verge of surpassing preseason expectations to slip into the playoff race.

Yet, this upcoming three-game stretch that starts out against the Sacramento Kings on the road tonight is still a win-or-die situation for head coach Alvin Gentry’s club. The Kings, who sit only above the New Orleans Hornets in the Western Conference standings, would be a momentum-building win, as the Suns continue on their road journey to Utah and Denver, the No. 8 and No. 7 seeds in the conference.

“I’m sick of watching that Phoenix team in 10th, 11th place right now,” center Marcin Gortat said. “Hopefully, we are going to do better. I want to see our team in the top eight, top six.”

Added newly-inserted starter Shannon Brown: “We just got to go out and play every game like it’s our last game. Like Coach said, every game for us right now is a playoff game right now. One win, we’re in, one loss we could be out. We just have to approach it like our last.”

If that sense of urgency is true to their hearts, then winning against Sacramento should be doable, but unlike the Hornets that showed up in Phoenix on Sunday with an anemic-looking roster, the Kings have enough talent to cause problems.

The Kings can ring up the points with 17-plus a night scorers Marcus Thornton, DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans, and Cousins is also a threat inside as the NBA’s fourth-best rebounder at 11.1 boards per game. Add in the recent pick-up of wing Terrence Williams, then rookie guards Jimmer Fredette and starting point guard Isaiah Thomas — a solid story on Mr. Irrelevant, who’s averaging 14.8 points and 5.3 assists as a starter, can be found here  – and Sacramento has the pieces to steal a game from anyone.

On the year, the Kings have recorded victories against the Lakers, Thunder, Spurs, Celtics, Pacers, Mavericks and Grizzlies, a sign they’re troubled more by youth and inconsistent play than any lack of talent.

For Phoenix, a focused victory on top of Sunday’s drubbing of the Hornets only keeps them paced with the Jazz and the Houston Rockets — the latter sit two games ahead of Phoenix in the last playoff spot.

“It’s going to be a very difficult stretch,” Steve Nash said. “We’ve got to come to play every night and try to see if we can win and give ourselves a chance to get in. It’s exciting, we’ve got to just make the most of this opportunity.”

Three keys for Phoenix

Get Brown involved. It’s an odd thought that we’re talking about Shannon Brown being an efficient player and now starter for the Suns, but after Grant Hill’s injury, that’s just what’s happening. Fitting in has been a slow yet progressive process throughout the season, and according to HoopData.com, his True Shooting Percentage has risen to 59.5 percent in the past 10 games, nine percentage points higher than his season average. Coupled with his athleticism, Brown’s involvement on boths ends will help counter the offensive attack of Evans and Thornton, who is questionable tonight with a leg that is “about to explode.”

Force jump shots. While the Kings can pump in the points, the Suns can’t let Cousins, at 17.7 points per game, get touches in the paint. Nor can Phoenix allow the likes of the physical Tyreke Evans attack the cup for scores or kickouts that help him lead the team with 4.8 assists per game.

Said Brown of Evans: “He’s deceivingly quick with the dribble. He can get to the basket. He finds people. You just got to stay in front of him, try to contain him and make him shoot as many outside jump shots as possible.”

Making the Kings shoot mid-range shots on the move seems like the best bet to keep the percentages to a minimum.

Control the tempo. Though Sacramento leads the league in pace, the Suns should decide when to run with the Kings and when to control the ball in the half court, as to allow their defense control of the game. The Kings give up the most points in the NBA and own the 28th best defensive rating, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Phoenix can find success by being patient and keeping the ball movement to a premium in the halfcourt, waiting for a defensive breakdown to allow them open shots.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have discovered a winning formula to open the second half of the season: fall behind by double digits early but hold the opposition below 40 percent shooting and win the rebounding battle to prevail in the end.

For the third straight game the Suns did just that in their 96-88 victory over the Sacramento Kings, a win that buoyed them to a three-game winning streak four days into the second half after doing that just once the entire inconsistent first half.

“We’ve still got a huge mountain to climb, but it’s a good start for us,” said head coach Alvin Gentry. “I thought we played really good basketball. I thought we played tough-minded basketball. Defensively that’s been kind of the difference.”

The Suns are still a long way from being back in the playoff race as they sit 3 1/2 games out in 12th place in the West, but they are finally taking care of home games, coming from behind and winning with defense and rebounding.

In fact they have now won five of six home games and are a Golden State toe stub away from a six-game winning streak and real momentum heading into the rest of this daunting schedule after entering this stretch with an awful 5-8 home mark.

Although the offense these past three games has looked “rusty” early on, as Steve Nash put it, the defense has allowed Phoenix to weather those droughts.

Tonight that meant holding Isaiah Thomas to eight points on 3-for-13 shooting as well as limiting Kings stars DeMarcus Cousins (16 on 7-for-20) and Tyreke Evans (17 on 8-for-18).

Gentry lauded the work his assistants did on that end during the practices after the break, saying they have done a nice job “of putting us in a situation where our guys believe in what we’re doing.”

In addition, the Suns feel the biggest key to their defensive success of late has come down to securing a healthy portion of defensive rebounds after being so porous in this area to start the season.

The Suns outrebounded Sacramento, 53-49, in tonight’s game as Cousins pulled down his usual 14 boards but everyone else was held in check. On the flip side, Marcin Gortat (17) and Channing Frye (10) cleaned the glass for Phoenix.

“Our defense has been pretty solid for most of the year, we just haven’t been able to come up with a good percentage of rebounding at the defensive end,” Nash said. “I feel like the last three games we’ve done a much better job rebounding and closing out possessions, and it gives us a good chance to win.”

Rebounding is an interesting topic to explore because it often comes down to positioning and effort, not to mention sheer size.

The Suns have been an abysmal rebounding team the last two seasons largely due to their lack of size, so I asked Nash why he thinks they have strung together three straight solid boarding efforts in a row.

“I don’t think it’s natural for our personnel so we have to make an extra effort,” Two Time said. “ Some nights we’re just going to lose that battle, but we’ve done a great job of trying to fight for it these last three games, and hopefully we keep that up.”

The Suns also continued their second-half prowess tonight, as Phoenix has outscored its opponents by 11.2 points the past three second halves while limiting their opponents to 36.2 percent shooting. Tonight the Kings hit just one-third of their second-half attempts while Phoenix used a 15-3 spurt to open the fourth quarter to win going away.

The Suns have now overcome double-digit deficits in three straight games for the first time since November 2002 and they’ve held three consecutive opponents under 40 percent shooting for the first time since January 2008.

“It feels good and definitely we made a plan, we said that we want to get those three wins and now we have them, so we have to keep going,” Gortat said. “We’ve got a great rhythm right now.”

Now the question is whether the Suns have finally turned the corner or whether they were able to get by without their fastball on offense because they faced two tired squads in Minnesota and the Clippers as well as bad team in Sacramento.

We will find out soon as after a trip to conference-leading Oklahoma City, the Suns play six of their next seven in Phoenix, with all but one of those games coming against a Western Conference playoff contender.

If the Suns can win, say, five of those six home games just as they won five of these previous six then all of a sudden they’re right around .500 and can at least start peering over at the playoff teams from their spot in the standings.

This run is also happening just as the Suns will have to make their final decision on whether or not to trade Steve Nash. All along I’ve felt like this only could happen if Phoenix was firmly out of the playoff discussion, at which time the front office could approach him about the possibility of seriously considering offers.

If the Suns start to finally click and move up the standings, I don’t see how that necessary change of events will occur.

But that’s not what the players and coaches are thinking about after this one. Instead they are celebrating really the first time all season that Phoenix can legitimately say it’s gotten on a roll behind a productive defense, solid rebounding and an offense that’s turned it on (relatively speaking) in the second halves of games.

Now the question is whether the Suns are due for the letdown they have suffered after every previous mini-run.

“If we have any chance of getting back in the playoff picture we have to win these games and give ourselves a chance to get back in there and get to .500 and see what we can do from there,” Nash said. “Hopefully we can take care of the games we’re supposed to win and take care of home court and then try to steal a couple.”

And 1

• Nash said he “felt a lot better” tonight after struggling through Friday’s game. “I think just the inactivity,” he said. “Going from my body’s used to playing and contact, but after the seven days off that first game back was a shock to the system and the next day I really felt it. The seven days off really messed me up.”
• Gentry credited Shannon Brown for “giving us a little bit of separation” as he scored a bench-high 13 points, including seven during Phoenix’s late 15-3 run.
• Gortat joked that he only played 30 minutes because Gentry “kind of sniffed out that I was getting close to our 20 boards and he didn’t really want me to shoot the three, so that’s why he put me on the bench.” Gortat has said Gentry will let him shoot a trey if he pulls down 20 boards in a game.
• The Suns have now won three in a row when trailing at halftime and are 5-5 in their last 10 such games after dropping their first 12 when behind at the intermission. … The Suns have won their first three games after the break three times in Gentry’s four seasons, a feat only accomplished three times in the previous 18 years. …  After their power forwards combined to shoot 3-for-26 on Friday, Channing Frye and Markieff Morris made just 3-of-19 shots tonight, with Morris missing all seven of his attempts. … The Suns have won as many home games in their last six contests as they did in their first 13 home dates.

Kings

Suns

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are running out of chances to make a run to save their season.

There have been too many losses like the Golden State defeat before the All-Star break — a game that prevented a five-game winning streak after Phoenix’s last few victories — right when the Suns seemed to be gaining steam.

The Suns will aim for only their second three-game winning streak of the season when Sacramento comes to town tonight, and it’s a streak they must obtain if they plan on vaulting into the playoff picture.

This contest against the Kings is one of just five games the rest of the season in which Phoenix will play a squad with a worse record than them. Such is life with an unbalanced schedule and a deep Western Conference, and it means the Suns can no longer afford to stub their toe against teams they are better than, especially at home.

The Suns put together one of their better efforts of the season when they visited Sacramento on Feb. 11, leading throughout during a 98-84 victory in which Phoenix limited the Kings to 35.1 percent shooting.

Grant Hill once again put the clamps on Tyreke Evans, holding him to four points on 1-for-9 shooting after keeping him to an average of 14.0 ppg on 35.1 percent shooting last season.

On the other end, Phoenix made half its shots to cruise to an easy victory. About the only negative from the game came from the Suns yielding 16 offensive boards and losing the rebounding battle despite shooting so much better than Sacramento.

Rebounding has been one of the keys to Phoenix’s two victories after the break, as the Suns outrebounded a pair of top-10 rebounding squads in their wins overs the Wolves and the Clippers.

“We have to become a better rebounding team and do it consistently if we want to try to get back in a position to be in the playoff race or have an opportunity to be a playoff team,” Gentry said. “I just think you’ve got to be able to rebound it if you’re going to have a chance to be in the playoffs. There are very few bad rebounding teams in the playoffs.”

The Kings rank just 22nd in rebound rate, two slots ahead of Phoenix, but DeMarcus Cousins is the third-best rebounder in the game (with a rebound rate of 21.2) and he’s an absolute bear on the offensive glass with a offensive rebound rate of 16.3 (fourth in the NBA).

Cousins is coming off his best month as a pro after averaging 19.0 and 12.3 in February, and he’s a guy who has given Phoenix trouble before with a 26-9 game in their first meeting this season and 28-8-6 and 17-7-8 games last season.

If the Suns can hold Cousins in check they have a great shot at their second three-game winning streak of the season being that the Kings are an awful road team (they have won just four of 22 away from California’s capital) and boast the league’s 25th-ranked offense and 28th-ranked defense.

However, as Marcin Gortat warned after Friday’s win, the Suns have suffered many a home letdown right when things seemed to be clicking.

“We’ve had situations where we’ve won two, three games in a row and later on we’ve come in from shootaround relaxed, we’re not really focused and all of a sudden we get punked at home again by 20 or 30 points,” Gortat said. “The most important thing for us is don’t get excited, just stay focused on everything that we do, just play hard and make sure we take care of business at home.”

And 1

• After the Clippers game I asked Gortat why he’s optimistic this Suns team can make a run. His response: “I think we’re a really talented team. We have a lot of good players, and I think our system is perfect. We’ve got the best point guard in the league who can make the best decisions in the league, you’ve got a center who’s rolling to the basket and you’ve got shooters all over the place, so I can’t imagine why the system couldn’t work.”
• The Suns have added longtime NBA player Lindsey Hunter to their scouting staff. He will assess talent in the NBA, D-League and college. “We are very fortunate to have a proven champion like Lindsey on our scouting staff,” GM Lance Blanks said in a release. “With ownership’s support we are continually making investments in our future and having someone of Lindsey’s caliber to help us evaluate players and make informed personnel choices will be invaluable.”

Jared Dudley's double-double helped the Suns knock off the red-hot Kings. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

The Sacramento Kings came into Saturday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns as one of the NBA’s hottest teams.

Winners of four of their last five with victories over the Thunder, Trail Blazers, Warriors and Hornets, the Kings’ offense was rolling, averaging 99.8 points per game during that stretch — good for fourth in the NBA.

The trio of Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton and DeMarcus Cousins accounted for 56.0 of those points and the NBA’s youngest team already began talking playoffs.

But it was the Suns who looked like the playoff team on Saturday as they stifled the Kings’ offense en route to a 98-84 victory, their fourth win in five games.

“It was a great win for us,” Suns head coach Alvin Gentry told Suns.com. “This team (Sacramento) has been playing great basketball for a while now. Keith (Smart) has been doing a great job with these young guys. For us to play from start to finish like that was great for us.”

Phoenix limited Sacramento to 35.1 percent shooting while collecting 11 blocks and eight steals, resulting in 16 Kings turnovers. While Cousins and Thornton ended up getting their numbers with 26 and 21, respectively, Grant Hill took Evans completely out of the game. The 6-foot-6 athletic point guard was a non-factor in Power Balance Pavilion as he shot 1-of-9 from the field for only four points and four turnovers in 30 minutes.

“We were going up against a team that was pretty solid and highly trained to guard,” Smart said. “I thought that Grant Hill did a great job of trying to create space and keep us out of the paint.”

Evans came into Saturday’s game averaging 19.4 points, 5.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds in his last five games, but none of that mattered to Hill, who kept the 22-year-old on the perimeter where he’s far less dangerous. Hill doing a number on Evans is nothing new. The 39-year-old put the clamps on Evans last year as well when he limited the Memphis product to 14.0 points and 3.5 turnovers on 35.1 percent shooting.

It wasn’t only Evans who the Suns locked down, however. No player aside from Cousins and Thornton scored more than eight points and the Suns’ defensive rotations were crisp while the interior defense refused to give ground as well — Marcin Gortat finished with four blocks and Markieff Morris racked up three.

The Suns capped those stellar defensive possessions with solid work on the glass. One game after getting outboarded 44-31 by the Rockets, Phoenix held the NBA’s third-best rebounding team to a 42-38 advantage that proved just enough for the Suns to seal the deal.

Phoenix jumped out to a 31-24 lead at the end of the first quarter and didn’t look back from there as the Suns never trailed in the game and led by as much as 17. While it was the defense that clamped down against a high-powered offensive squad, the Suns’ offense more than held up its end of the bargain.

They drilled 50.0 percent of their field goals, scored over 20 points in every quarter for the first time in five games, received 35 points from a bench that was missing in action against Houston, and dished out 27 assists on 39 buckets, 15 of which came from Steve Nash.

Nine different players scored for Phoenix and four finished in double figures, but no one was bigger than Jared Dudley. The crafty swingman was everywhere in 37 minutes of play as he scored 20 points, grabbed 10 boards, drilled three triples, and collected two steals and two blocks, all while shooting 8-of-13 from the field.

Channing Frye also continued his hot streak as he scored eight first-quarter points and eventually finished with 17 on 6-of-12 shooting in only 27 minutes. Frye is now averaging 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds on 47.0 percent from the field and 40.0 percent form distance in his last five games.

Gortat was rock solid once again with 15 points, seven boards and four blocks in 36 minutes while missing only three shots from the field. The usual suspects contributed and although a lot of it came with the game in hand, Morris went for a career-high 18 points, six boards and three blocks in 26 minutes of play.

From offense to defense to consistency, this was one of the Suns’ best 48-minute performances of the season. The Kings have given the Suns major problems in the past, but thanks to Hill’s perimeter defense, Phoenix’s interior presence, Dudley’s first double-double of the year, Nash’s vision and Frye’s shooting the Suns picked up a much-needed win and are gaining steam as they prepare to round out their road trip in Golden State and Denver next week.

“I definitely think this was a top three performance for us this season,” Gentry said.

And 1

• Nash received four stitches on his lip after receiving an inadvertent backhand to the face from rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas late in the first quarter. Nash sat the entire second quarter but went on to play 29 minutes and finish in double-digit assists for the firth straight game.
• Former Suns great and current Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson sat courtside at the game sporting a neutral purple shirt.
• Ronnie Price found his way off the pine to play 13 minutes and score six points on 3-of-3 shooting. Prior to Saturday Price hadn’t made a field goal in five games.
• Hakim Warrick and Shannon Brown remained out of the rotation. Warrick has missed the last five games while Brown hasn’t played in the last four.

Suns

Kings

PHOENIX — Odd as it sounds, a three-game road trip might be just what the doctor ordered for the Phoenix Suns.

With a better winning percentage on the road (6-8) than at home (5-7), the Suns might benefit from a three-game road trip that begins tonight against the Sacramento Kings.

“I think with new faces, new guys, us getting away … you hang out more, you bond a little more,” guard Jared Dudley said. “I don’t know, maybe you sleep a little better on the road when you don’t have kids and wives. Hopefully we can continue because we have three big road games coming up.”

Head coach Alvin Gentry knows that a decent road record means nothing if Phoenix can’t win in US Airways Center. His players still haven’t played well with consistency, and he’s hoping this road trip can set fire to their play at home.

“You can’t be a sub-.500 team at home and make the playoffs,” Gentry said. “I’ve never heard of that.”

Yet, the Suns found offensive cohesion in their recent three-game winning streak, and it’s arguable that remained in the 96-89 loss to the Rockets on Thursday. It was rebounding that ultimately lost the game for Phoenix, and it wasn’t just giving up 22 second-chance points to the Rockets. That poor rebounding also affected the Suns’ own scoring, especially from their bench unit.

En route to a 15-point second quarter, the Suns scored three points in the first seven minutes of the period during Thursday’s loss to Houston. Again in the fourth, Phoenix’s offense went stale.

They scored only 13 points in the last 12 minutes.

“You can’t do that,” Gentry said. “It’s hard for us to win if we’re going to get 28 points in the second and fourth quarters. We give up 50 and score 28. That doesn’t add up.”

Michael Redd has been the only consistent scorer off the bench for the Suns, scoring in double-digits in the last three games. Meanwhile, no other Phoenix bench player has hit the 10-point mark.

Scoring has been a problem, and Josh Childress said the solution lies on the other end of the floor.

“I think what we have to do is really focus on getting out of the half court,” Childress said, “and getting into the up-tempo, pushing the limits defensively. Just causing havoc. We’re stuck in the half court game, we’re not hitting shots, we’re not scoring.”

Three keys for Phoenix

Taking Sac seriously. I know, I know. Any NBA team can beat any other NBA team on any given night. I know the Kings have a 10-16 record. They are 26th in the NBA in offensive rating and 27th in defensive rating. But Sactown is on the rise behind their talented young roster and invigorating first-year coach Keith Smart. DeMarcus Cousins is a double-double waiting to happen, Tyreke Evans can score in downpours, and the Kings have won four of their last five — and two of those wins came against Portland and Oklahoma City.

Bring the help. Outside of DeMarcus Cousins, most of the Kings’ scoring comes from their backcourt. None of the four guards that play the most minutes — Evans, Marcus Thornton, and rookies Jimmer Fredette and Isaiah Thomas — shoot above 41.5 percent from the field. That means the Suns can probably get away with over-helping, as they’d rather crowd the lane (and Cousins while they’re at it) and let the Kings’ guards take jumpers instead of allowing them to get to the rim.

Managing minutes. After the Sacramento game, Phoenix has a day of rest before playing three games in three days. Dudley said he hadn’t played a schedule that stacked since competing in conference tournaments at Boston College. So how Gentry deals with dolling out minutes tonight will be noteworthy, as it could affect a brutal three-game stretch thereafter.

“We’re still in the process of figuring out what to do,” Gentry said, adding that their decision-making will come one game at a time. “I’ll also talk to Steve and Grant and Michael and see how they want to approach it.”

Frye and Gortat combined for 38 points and 20 rebounds, but the Suns once again couldn't pull out a victory. Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

If you’re looking for an explanation why the Phoenix Suns won’t make the playoffs this season, pop in the tape of tonight’s matchup with the Kings — or their last three games against Sacramento for that matter.

Once again the Suns collapsed down the stretch — crippled by turnovers, poor defense and lack of a go-to scorer — as they lost hold of an 11-point, second-half lead to become the only team to lose to the lowly Kings three times this season, falling 116-113 in Sacramento.

Meet the 2010-11 Phoenix Suns.

The Kings have now outscored the Suns by a total of 32 points in the fourth quarters of their last three meetings, making them 10.6 points better than Phoenix in the most important quarter of the game.

But it’s not just the Kings that give the Suns trouble in crunch time.

Blowing leads, looking lost offensively and struggling to come up with big stops late in games has become the mantra of this year’s Suns team, and it’s no wonder Phoenix is 36-37 and all-but eliminated from the playoff race.

Because of these glaring deficiencies, the Suns are under .500 for the first time since Feb. 7, have lost four of their last five, eight of their last 11 and plan on watching the playoffs from home. Phoenix is now 10-13 in games decided by five points or less, and all 13 of those losses can be attributed to the Suns’ lack of ability to close out games.

As was the case in their previous two games against Sacramento, the Suns were in the driver’s seat for the majority of the contest and rattled off a 9-0 run midway through the third quarter to take a 78-67 lead with 7:22 remaining in the period. The Kings fought back, but the Suns kept their distance and led 91-84 when Steve Nash headed to the bench with 1:06 left in the third.

Phoenix seemed to be rolling, scoring at will in transition (33 fast-break points on the night) as Jared Dudley (17 points, five rebounds, five steals) and Marcin Gortat (17 points, 11 rebounds) thrived in their new starting roles.

The bench even built the lead to 98-88 with 10:12 left in the game and the Suns were on pace to finally get the better of the Kings and end their two-game slide.

But like most losses similar to this, Aaron Brooks (1-for-6, four turnovers) and company couldn’t keep their foot on the gas as the Kings cut the Suns lead to 102-100 just over two minutes later.

Phoenix had only committed six turnovers through the first three quarters, while allowing only six fast-break points. But the Suns committed four turnovers in the first 4:04 of the fourth quarter and the Kings converted on run-out dunk after run-out dunk, ultimately finishing the game with 19 fast-break points.

Soon after Nash came back the Kings took a 106-104 lead that lasted only a minute as Dudley tied things up with 5:07 left. But from that point on the offense stalled, as the Suns went 2-for-10 from the field and scored only seven points in the final five minutes of play.

Despite the late-game struggles the Suns still led 110-109 with just under a minute to go when Marcus Thornton (24 points and 11 rebounds) drilled a triple and the Kings didn’t look back as four more free throws put the game on ice and capped off their dominance of the Suns.

Yet another one that got away for Phoenix against a team it should have beaten. Tis the story of the 2010-11 Phoenix Suns. They shot 7-for-21 in the fourth quarter, allowed the Kings to shoot 11-for-18 in the fourth (hitting nine of their first 10), were outrebounded 50-39 and couldn’t muster up enough points or defensive stops to take the first step in an improbable playoff run.

They played well enough for 40 minutes to win the game. They shot 50 percent from the field and turned the ball over only 10 times, but it’s those final eight to 10 minutes that’s killed this team all season long.

The Suns have always been a team, because of their reliance on shooting and the pace they play at, that lets teams back into ball games. But it’s never come back to haunt them as badly as it has this year.

Not only do teams creep into the game with ease, the Suns’ offense looks absolutely lost with nowhere to go as the game comes to a close. Nash (13 points, 14 assists) no longer has the offensive firepower to put the team on it’s back, and you can only run so many sets for Channing Frye (21 points, nine rebounds).

It’s only fitting that this is how Phoenix’s season will end, with questions from the preseason still left unanswered. Who will take over late in games? How will the Suns get stops late in games? Will they be OK without a legitimate interior scoring presence?

None of these questions ever received a positive answer, and thus, the Suns sit 4 1/2 games behind eighth place Memphis with only 11 games to play.

Suns

Kings

PHOENIX — As the Phoenix Suns begin their 10-game de facto exhibition season Tuesday night in Sacramento, they can look across the court at one of the visual reminders of why they’re in this situation.

The Suns are responsible for two of Sacramento’s 20 wins, games that a playoff team can’t afford to lose.

The most crushing one occurred right in this very building on Jan. 2 when the Suns blew a 12-point lead with under six minutes to go as DeMarcus Cousins sparked the Kings to a 19-2 run. Then on Feb. 13 in US Airways Center the Suns just could not stop a Cousins-less Sacto squad that scored 35 points on 63.2 percent shooting in the fourth to thwart a Suns rally that seemed inevitable.

There were many other such demoralizing losses but few hurt as much as these two against the West’s second-worst team.

While the Suns are struggling a bit with losses in two straight and three of four, the Kings actually come into this one hot with wins in three straight and four of five on their just completed Eastern road trip.

It’s sure to be a raucous atmosphere with the city of Sacramento striving to save their Kings, and the Suns could be in for a letdown following Sunday’s realization that, as Gortat put it, it doesn’t look like “we’re going to be talking about playoffs this year anymore.”

The Kings have known that about themselves since November, yet they finally started to build a little momentum on this past road trip, with Marcus Thornton scorching the nets to give them a new dimension at the shooting guard spot.

I look forward to seeing whether the Suns play with the same kind of zest they did during their last spirited road trip in Los Angeles or whether they play like they’ve thrown in the towel.

The Suns have already made a starting lineup switch that they plan to continue using by inserting Gortat and Jared Dudley into the first unit for Robin Lopez and Vince Carter. Gortat and Dudley figure to be starters (or at least key rotation players) next season while Carter has 10 games left in a Suns uniform and Lopez could be moved as well.

In these final 10 games I’d like to see more Josh Childress so the organization has a better grip on whether he can be the player they thought they signed and more Aaron Brooks so the Suns can figure out whether he really does have point guard of the future potential or whether he’s a sunk cost they should let go of.

“For us it’s not only finishing it up the right way, it’s getting ready for next year,” Dudley said. “A lot of people are under contract. I signed my extension, obviously a couple guys here, Gortat’s still here. We’re trying to build if we don’t get to the playoffs for next year, what guys are going to be here, how we’re going to build for next year, make that huge leap.”

With the Suns firmly established as a .500 team 72 games into the season, the best they can hope for at this point is bringing positive vibes into 2011-12 along with a better plan for next offseason than they had during the last one.

And 1

Nick Ketner won the third annual Bounce with the Suns contest by dribbling a basketball for 44 hours and 47 minutes. Pretty impressive, as I remember the first year’s contest ending just a few hours after the night’s Suns game after an early morning start, and I’m not sure if I could do anything consecutively for almost 45 hours without sleep. Ketner will get to travel on a road trip with the Suns next season after outlasting 46 other participants.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns’ defense has been so good of late that only the Miami Heat have allowed a lower shooting percentage over their last 10 games entering Sunday.

So maybe that’s why the Suns felt like they would eventually string together a couple stops in the fourth quarter to finish a comeback that never materialized in their stunning 113-108 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

“The truth of the matter is at the end of the game we couldn’t stop them,” Steve Nash said. “The negative side is we couldn’t get stops at the end of the game. The positive is it felt strange, like why aren’t we stopping these guys because our defense has been so good.”

Added Channing Frye, “When they were making all their shots at the end in the fourth quarter we were very uncomfortable. It wasn’t like, ‘OK, oh well,’ it was like, ‘We’re not used to this, it’s not how we play.’”

The Kings scored 35 points on scorching 63.2 percent shooting in the final period. They ripped off an 11-0 run to take a 10-point lead midway through the quarter, and after a pair of unsuccessful possessions that led to successive three-point trips on the Phoenix end to cut it to four, Sacramento scored on its next seven possessions to keep the Suns at bay despite constant offensive pressure from Phoenix.

During this stretch Beno Udrih hit a back-breaking three with a hand in his face to put a four-point lead to seven with three minutes left and Carl Landry and Donte Greene took turns successfully going at Frye and Jared Dudley, respectively.

The Suns just had no answer as shot after Sacramento shot found the net.

“We didn’t get any stops,” head coach Alvin Gentry said. “That’s a tough thing to do — you don’t have any chance of coming back if you’re exchanging baskets. The best you can do is exchange baskets, if they’re scoring every time.”

The Kings shot just 41.3 percent through three quarters, but they were saved by a dominant 42-26 rebounding edge that kept them within three at that point despite missing often after opening up a 17-7 lead that was quickly negated by a 20-2 Phoenix run.

Even with stud rebounder DeMarcus Cousins sitting at home, the Kings got 15 boards from Samuel Dalembert, 10 off the bench from Landry and seven each from Jason Thompson and Omri Casspi.

Marcin Gortat, who grabbed 12 of his own, eight more than any teammate not named Channing Frye (seven), said the Kings often sent three or four guys to the backboards to overwhelm the Suns. That was the story of the Suns’ Jan. 2 loss in Sacramento in which the Kings bullied them to the tune of a 60-32 advantage on the backboards as well.

“They dominated the boards,” Gentry said. “We struggled with them the last time when they dominated the boards. I think you need to give all the credit for them. We’ve done a pretty good job of taking care of the offensive boards and things like that, but they just dominated the boards and I think that was the difference in the game.”

Added Gortat, “They’ve got a lot of strong, athletic guys and they were hitting the glass really hard. We’ve just got to get better at that, be physical and try to go get it.”

The Kings’ prowess on the boards is no surprise as they average the league’s second-most offensive boards (13.2) and second-chance points (15.9) and got 18 offensive boards and 23 second-chance points in this one.

That negated another spectacular game by Nash, who went for 22 and 18 to give him his eighth 20-15 game of the season, compared to four for the rest of the NBA combined. He’s gone for 18.0 and 13.5 in his last four.

But this was a trap game if there ever was one directly in the middle of a home-and-home with the fading Utah Jazz, who appear ripe for the catching.

The Kings lost a late game Saturday night in Sacramento and then told Cousins not to even board the flight after an altercation with Greene.

That’s not to mention Sacramento entered the day with the least amount of victories in the Western Conference and had lost 10 in a row in Phoenix and five in a row overall, the longest active losing streak in the NBA.

In fact the Suns lost to a Pacific Division opponent at home that Kobe Bryant does not play for for the first time since the start of the 2007-08 season after winning their past 22 such games. Phoenix had also won its previous 11 Sunday home games as well, dating back to Feb. 22, 2009.

“Alvin warned us,” Nash said. “They’ve had some chemistry issues this year, they’re going to come out tonight without Cousins and feel like this is a great opportunity. We should have been more prepared just mentally.”

Like many Suns followers, I was already thinking ahead to the Suns’ great opportunity to get four games over .500 by the All-Star break if they can defeat the Jazz and Mavs at home, figuring a victory over the lowly Kings was a foregone conclusion.

The Suns never knocked the Kings out in the third quarter, and then never could make a comeback that seemed inevitable after falling behind by double-digits in the fourth.

Gortat said the Suns had been playing so well lately, winners of 11 of 15, that they were going to slip up eventually. It’s just hard to imagine it would come at home against one of the worst teams in the West.

Nash said there are always five games a season that you look back on as games that should be in the ‘W’ column, but you just hope it’s not 15.

Following in the tradition of games they should have won against the Bulls, Grizzlies, Kings on the road, Pistons and now Kings again, the Suns have more than reached their quota.

“It’s one of those losses that you are going to look back at and it’s going to hurt,” Gentry said.

And 1

Vince Carter has not played in the Suns’ last three fourth quarters. He walked out on reporters when asked about this circumstance. … Nash retained the NBA’s all-time leading free throw percentage despite missing a foul shot tonight. … The Suns have won five of six against winning teams but have lost four of seven against losing squads. … Dudley on his second dunk of the season and second in three games: “I’m starting to bang it out, baby, I’m starting to bang it out.”

Kings

Suns

The Suns were embarrassed in their first game of 2011.

Up 14 in the fourth quarter in Sacramento, Phoenix squandered its big lead and allowed the conference’s worst team to pull off the comeback, 94-89.

The Suns fell to 14-18 on the season and would go on to lose two more games before turning their ship around.

Flash forward a little over a month later and Phoenix has managed to crawl its way back over the .500 mark.

Most recently, the team defeated the Jazz on Friday night by holding Utah to just 27 points in the second half.

“Mickael Pietrus came in and did a great job on Deron [Williams] and made him work for his shots,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry told Suns.com. “And we did a good job of rebounding the basketball and then I thought we executed great down the stretch.”

Phoenix displayed a remarkably stingy defense that held the Jazz to 32 percent shooting from the field.

Williams had 19 points, but was just 4-for-11 from the field in the second half.

“I don’t know that technically or mechanically we’re the best defensive team, but when we play aggressive, when we play hard, when we play with passion, I think we can do a good enough job down there,” Robin Lopez said. “And that will fuel our offense, if we get the stops defensively.”

The win put the Suns over the .500 mark for the first time since Dec. 7 and just one game back  in the loss column of Portland for the eighth seed in the West.

Friday, however, was just the latest in a recent string of high-quality basketball from the rejuvenated Suns.

Since Jan. 12, only the Spurs have a better record than Phoenix’s 11-4.

On the other side are the Kings.

If it weren’t for the historically bad Cavaliers, Sacramento would be the worst team in the NBA.

Nevertheless, the young Kings team gained a lot of confidence from their last meeting with the Suns.

During their fourth quarter rally in January, Sacramento played with sparks and flames.

Rookie DeMarcus Cousins had 13 of his 28 points in the final frame to go along with his eight boards and six assists.

Phoenix will need to be wary of this classic trap game.

The Suns have had issues of late with the bottom duelers of the league (see head-scratching losses to Detroit, Philadelphia and Charlotte).

The team has, however, won 10 straight against Sacramento at home with an average margin of victory over 20 points.

After the Kings, Phoenix heads into All-Star weekend with home games against Utah and Dallas, so Sunday provides an opportunity to guarantee the team at least a .500 record at the break.

Cousins doesn’t make trip

Kings stud rookie DeMarcus Cousins did not make the trip to Phoenix following an altercation with Donte Greene in the locker room Saturday night concerning Greene’s decision to give the ball to Tyreke Evans for a last-second shot in last night’s game against Oklahoma City, according to the Sacramento Bee‘s Jason Jones.

Jones reports that Cousins still could join the team today in the Valley.

According to the report, Cousins and Greene had words for each other and then had to be separated. One source told ESPN’s J.A. Adande that Cousins complained about wanting respect despite being a rookie.

Cousins destroyed the Suns in Sacramento’s 94-89 victory on Jan. 2 by going for a career-high 28 points and eight boards on 11-for-17 shooting, including a dagger of a three-point play with less than two minutes left that tied the game. Cousins was also a plus 26 on that night as the Suns had no answer for him.