NBA: Suns choke Cavs in the third, complete come-from-behind win

The Phoenix Suns have always been known for their offense, but it was their defense that came to play in the pivotal third period, as they came from behind to lance the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-90, Sunday (Monday, PHL time) at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Call it a comeback! Your Suns trailed by 20 points but came back to win in Cleveland 99-90. @KeefMorris with 27 pts and 15 rebs. #SunsAtCavs

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 27, 2014

The win allowed the Suns (25-18) to snap a three-game road losing streak, while the Cavs fell to 16-28.

Trailing by as much as 20 points late in the second quarter, 61-41, the visiting Suns used a 25-6 third period to lead by one point, 68-67, entering the fourth.

A triple by Earl Clark tied the game anew at 70-all, under a minute into the final quarter, but 11 straight by Phoenix shifted momentum squarely on to the Suns’ shoulders.

A layup by Kyrie Irving, followed by three free throws, cut Cleveland’s deficit to three, 84-81, 4:51 left, and it was Irving again who punctuated their last rally try, nailing two more from the stripe and nailing a jumper, 90-87, 1:34 left. In response though, Channing Frye connected on a triple, and
four free throws restored Phoenix’s 10-point lead, 97-87, 47 seconds left.

Markieff Morris led all scorers with 27 points and 15 rebounds off the bench. Channing Frye added 16 markers, 12 on three-pointers, while Goran Dragic put together a line of 15 points, five rebounds, seven assists and a steal versus just one turnover.

Kyrie Irving paced the Cavs with 24 points and nine assists. Luol Deng and  Tristan Thompson added double-doubles of 18 points and 10 rebounds, and 17 points and 13 rebounds, respectively.

After shooting 54.5 percent at halftime, the Suns defense allowed just a 23.8 percent clip in the second half to the woeful Cavs. - AMD, GMA News