NBA Game Summary - Phoenix at Orlando

Orlando, FL (Basketball News) - Shawn Marion scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Phoenix held on to defeat Orlando, 118-116, at TD Waterhouse Arena.

Joe Johnson added 26 points, while Steve Nash ended with 23 points and 12 assists for the Suns, who finished their five-game road trip 4-1. Amare Stoudemire had 14 points and seven rebounds in the win.

"Overall it was a good trip," Nash said. "We lost kind of a big one against Miami, but really came out tonight in the first half and looked like a team that wasn’t going to quit. We challenged ourselves at halftime and it shows we have some character in the room."

Grant Hill led the Magic with 26 points. DeShawn Stevenson netted 22 points for Orlando, which lost for the third straight time and fourth consecutive at home. Jameer Nelson chipped in 19 points off the bench in the losing effort. Steve Francis, in his first game back from his three-game suspension, had 17 points.

"Phoenix is a good team," Francis said. "You can’t take anything away from them. But despite our loss, I thought we still played hard."

The Suns began to pull away in the middle of the third quarter. Trailing 76-74, Johnson’s trey sparked a quick 6-0 spurt, giving Phoenix a four-point cushion.

Moments later, Marion gave the Suns an 87-80 advantage, following a pair form the charity stripe with 2:19 left in the quarter. Johnson’s free throw made it 93-83 just before the quarter ended.

Francis’ jumper sent the Magic into the fourth, trailing 93-85.

Orlando got within six in the early moments of the fourth, but Phoenix grabbed a 110-99 lead on Nash’s jumper with 5:56 left in the contest.

The Magic answered, though, over the next 5 1/2 minutes, using a 17-8 surge to get within 118-116 with less than a minute to go. Hill’s bucket made it a two- point game and after a shot clock violation on the Suns, Orlando had one last chance.

Francis took the ball out of bounds and dribbled at the top of the key looking for his shot. He was unable to get a good look and nearly lost the ball before passing it to Nelson, who had a wide open jumpshot, but his attempt rimmed off as time expired.

"I was trying to get Steve (Francis) full speed before he received the ball," Orlando head coach Chris Jent said. "We tried to use Jameer (Nelson) as kind of a little brush, create that right side for him. I don’t know who was defending him but they did a nice job of cutting it off and we had another option."

The game was tied at 31-31 after the first 12 minutes. Orlando was able to pull slightly ahead in the second frame, garnering a 61-59 lead the break.

Stevenson led the Magic with 16 points, while Johnson netted 16 for Phoenix in the half.