PHOENIX -- The tired, last-place and short-handed New Orleans Hornets were just the opponent the Phoenix Suns needed to get back to .500 and gain a bit of ground in their bid to make the playoffs. Jared Dudley scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and the Suns beat the Hornets 92-75 Sunday night to pull within 1 1/2 games of Houston for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Shannon Brown, starting for injured Grant Hill, added 16 for Phoenix. Channing Frye had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Marcin Gortat scored 13 and Steve Nash handed out 14 assists for the Suns, 16-1 this season when their opponent scores 90 or fewer points. Jason Smith and Marco Belinelli scored 14 apiece for the Hornets. Jarrett Jack added 13. New Orleans -- finishing off a five-game, seven-day road trip -- became the third team in the NBA and first in the West to lose 40 games. Phoenix dominated the game at the foul line, going 19 of 21 to the Hornets 7 of 9. "We had to come out and get the win," Dudley said. "We are at home, fighting for playoffs. We see that Houston has been losing, Utah has been losing, so we have to keep it going. It is going to come down to the road games, so the home games are must wins. It doesnt matter who comes here." The Suns play seven of their next eight on the road. "We are going to have games that we have to win and a lot of those games are going to be on the road," Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. "For us, this is our first playoff game and we get on a plane and fly to Sacramento and that will be our next playoff game. I think that is how we have to approach it." After the Suns took a 50-41 halftime lead, Brown led an 18-4 run that put Phoenix ahead 70-49 with 4:36 left in the third quarter. He started the outburst with three free throws after being fouled by Belinelli, then stole the ball from Smith and sank a 3. Brown ended the run with a 14-footer. Dudley scored six straight points during the surge. "We knew they were a little bit tired and wanted to jump on them and keep them down," Brown said. The Hornets scored six in a row to cut it to 72-58 on two free throws by Greivis Vasquez before the Suns Josh Childress sank a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to boost the lead to 75-58 entering the fourth. It was just the fourth 3 of the season for Childress and first since Feb. 4. New Orleans got no closer than 12 in the final quarter. The Hornets led only once, 33-32 on a 3-pointer by Al-Farouq Aminu with 7:31 left in the first half. "We have been in situations before off a back-to-back and this was the first time that I thought it affected us from an energy standpoint," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "I thought the ball didnt move tonight. ... We had 19 turnovers and you cant win games on the road with 19 turnovers and not getting to the free throw line. That is a recipe for a loss." Phoenix used an 11-2 run to go up 49-39 on a pair of free throws by Frye with 1:46 left in the half. Michael Redd started the spurt with a three-point play and Brown scored on a reverse layup and 21-footer. The Suns Robin Lopez, on his 24th birthday, scored all 10 of his points in the nine minutes of the second quarter on 2 of 2 shooting and 6 of 6 from the foul line. "He really beasted us," Williams said. Frye had eight points and nine rebounds in the first half. The Hornets, already ravaged by injuries, lost Chris Johnson with a concussion in the first half. NOTES: After dressing just eight players the previous two games, New Orleans had 10 this time with the return of Chris Kaman from a five-game absence due to illness and Gustavo Ayon from a three-game leave for the birth of his child. ... The Suns Markieff Morris missed his second straight game with the flu but Gentry said the rookie forward is expected back for Tuesdays game against the Kings. ... Phoenix won the season series 3-1.

cheap jerseys . -- Jim Harbaugh offered a parting shot at Packers linebacker Clay Matthews: Slapping is not the tough-guy way. cheap nfl jerseys china . The Panthers havent made it to the playoffs since the spring of 2000, but all Florida needs is a win tonight against the Jets to make that dubious streak a thing of the past. Viewers in the Jets Region can see the action on TSN Jets beginning at 7pm et/6pm ct. http://www.cheapjerseysus.biz/. Beckham received the booking for a reckless tackle during the first half of Wednesdays scoreless draw against Toronto FC. It was his league-high fifth yellow card through six games. cheap nfl jerseys . -- The Sharks defended their coach they best way they knew how -- with a dramatic comeback victory. cheap jerseys china . Hockey Alberta announced it would do away with bodychecking for 11- and 12-year-old players following a fractious debate that saw the resignation of Hockey Calgarys president after he suggested the practice be banned. "Our players safety is the foundation in making this decision," Rob Virgil, Hockey Albertas board chairman, said in a statement Wednesday.VANCOUVER -- Jonathan Huberdeau scored the only goal of the shootout Tuesday as the Florida Panthers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. Shawn Matthias and Brad Boyes had the goals for Florida (6-12-4), which got 27 saves from Tim Thomas. Jannek Hansen and Chris Higgins scored in regulation for Vancouver (11-8-4). Roberto Luongo finished with 34 saves through regulation and overtime as the Canucks lost their fifth straight. Vancouver has scored just six goals over that five-game slide. The Canucks killed off a full two-minute penalty in overtime, with Luongo making a huge pad stop on Huberdeau. Vancouver then poured it on in the final minute of the extra period, but couldnt find a way past Thomas. The 39-year-old goalie, who led the Boston Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup in a memorable seven-game victory over Vancouver, had not given up a goal at Rogers Arena since Game 5 of the final. Playing in just his second game back after a long absence with a lower-body injury, Hansen jumped on a bad clearing attempt from Panthers forward Tomas Fleischmann and wired a shot past Thomas for his third of the season at 2:35 of the final period to tie snap a 1-1 tie. After the teams exchanged chances, Matthias brought the Panthers back to level terms by ripping his third of the season past Luongo from the slot at 8:34. Down 1-0 after a lacklustre first period, the Canucks came out with some renewed intensity in the second and were rewarded when Higgins beat Thomas through a maze of legs for his seventh goal of the season at 3:26. Thomas, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with Boston back in 2011, then made a big stop on Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows before Daniel Sedin sent a shot from the right faceoff circle just wide. Luongo didnt have much to do in a second period that lost steam after Vancouvers initial surge, but did make a good save on streaking Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad with under two minutes to go.dddddddddddd Florida opened the scoring at 3:43 of the first period against the NHLs No. 1 penalty killing unit. With Canucks forward Jannik Hansen off in the box for goaltender interference, Aleksander Barkovs shot off the post bounced right to Boyes, who beat a down-and-out Luongo for his eighth of the season. That goal seemed to stun the Canucks, who looked like a team that thought they were going to have an easy night against the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference. Vancouvers 26th-ranked power play went to work midway through the period, but the Panthers had the best chance when Luongo was forced to make a big save on a Marcel Goc breakaway. Burrows, who has yet to score this season in 11 games, then hit the post on a Florida power play with about five minutes to go in the period. Notes: Canucks forward Dale Weise returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. He took the place of David Booth, who has just one goal and two assists in 13 games this season. ... Former members of the Panthers on the current Canucks roster include Luongo, Booth, Higgins, Mike Santorelli and Jason Garrison. ... Luongo, who was with the Panthers from 2000 to 2006 before being dealt to the Canucks, still ranks first among all-time Florida goaltenders for wins (108), games played (317) and shutouts (26). ... The Panthers had won two of three coming into Tuesday, including a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday that was the 200th of Thomas career. Thomas took last season off before signing with Florida during training camp. ... The Canucks continue their six-game homestand on Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. ... The Panthers are in Edmonton to take on the Oilers on Thursday for the third game of their four-game road trip. ... The Canucks and Panthers meet again March 16 in Sunrise, Fla. ' ' '