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Dragic's last-second shot sends Suns to victory over Grizzlies

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Associated Press
12/12/2012 11:48:59 PM
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PHOENIX -- Goran Dragic wasn't about to miss another last-second shot.

Dragic made a short hook shot from the left baseline with 0.5 seconds remaining and the Phoenix Suns edged the Memphis Grizzlies 82-80 on Wednesday to snap a seven-game losing streak.

"Last time, I missed the easy layup against Dallas so this time I told myself you have to make that one," Dragic said. "The play was improve for me. I play pick and roll and take that last shot."

Dragic took an inbound pass at the top of the key, drove to the baseline, spun around Marc Gasol and lofted a left-handed hook from the side of the paint.

"We were going to run a play, but it was going then to be a shot right away and we didn't want to do that," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "We wanted to try and use as much of the clock as we could. Goran just made a great play."

Dragic had 12 points, and Shannon Brown and Jared Dudley scored 15 each for the Suns, who won for the first time since Nov. 27 at Cleveland.

"We lost every possible way you can -- close games, blowouts, bad teams, good teams, different ways, different lineups -- and sometimes you forget how to win," Dudley said. "Now we can start trying to get this thing rolling."

Rudy Gay scored a game-high 21 points with 11 rebounds and Zach Randolph added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have lost consecutive games for the first time this season.

"That's our game -- taking care of the ball, executing and getting up and down on the court and that's what we're not doing right now," Randolph said. "These last two games we haven't been doing that."

Gay tied the game at 80-80 on a turnaround jumper from just to the right of the free-throw line with 46.8 seconds remaining. He had a chance to give the Grizzlies the lead with 12 seconds left, but his 17-foot jumper bounced off the rim, setting up Dragic's shot.

A lob attempt off the inbound pass by the Grizzlies was broken up by a pair of Phoenix defenders as time expired.

After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, the Suns took their first lead since the opening minutes on a layup by Dudley with 8:03 left in the third quarter before setting for a 63-all tie at the end of the period.

The teams traded baskets to open the final quarter before the Suns took a 73-72 lead on a 15-footer by Jermaine O'Neal with 7:35 remaining.

"When we are solid we can win some games," Dragic said.

Phoenix stretched the lead to 80-76 on a hook shot by Marcin Gortat with 4:05 remaining, but missed a pair of shots, turned the ball over twice and did not score again until Dragic's decisive basket.

"We were playing decent defence and getting stops but offensively we were not executing," Gasol said. "It's hard to win when you don't execute."

NOTES: The Suns have won five games this season after trailing by double digits, all at home. ... Phoenix is 4-3 in games decided by three points or fewer. ... Luis Scola returned to the Phoenix starting lineup after coming off the bench in the team's past 11 games. ... Memphis has not won in Phoenix since Dec. 8, 2010.

Goran Dragic (Photo: David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

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(Photo: David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
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