PHOENIX _ The Orlando Magic broke open a close game in the fourth quarter and defeated the Phoenix Suns, 109-103, Friday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Evan Fournier scored a team-high 25 points for the Magic, while Nikola Vucevic added 18 points and collected 17 rebounds.
Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak.
The Magic took a 95-94 lead when Vucevic gathered a rebound off a miss by Terrence Ross and scored in the lane with 5:19 to go.
Orlando never trailed again.
After the Suns missed a jumper on their ensuing possession, Elfrid Payton hurled a long lob to Aaron Gordon, and Gordon completed the play with a spectacular dunk.
After a score in the lane by Phoenix's T.J. Warren, Fournier sank a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, extending the lead to 100-96.
Gordon finished with 17 points, while Payton tallied 10 points and 11 assists in the fast-paced game.
The game was closer than it should've been.
The Suns (22-47) have shut down point guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight and center Tyson Chandler for the remainder of the season. Team officials say they want to evaluate and teach their young players, but the decision smacks of tanking to enhance the team's draft lottery chances.
Phoenix also was missing big man Dragan Bender as he recovers from surgery and guard Leandro Barbosa to an illness.
The absences left the Suns with only available nine players.
The Magic (25-45) were playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a dreadful loss Thursday to the Golden State Warriors.
After Golden State All-Star Klay Thompson scored 29 points against them the night before, Orlando did a better job on Phoenix's second-year shooting guard, Devin Booker, on Friday. Booker managed to score only 10 points as Fournier did the bulk of the defending against him.
