PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Stephon Marbury's clutch shooting more than made up for a poor performance earlier in the week.
Marbury scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help stop a late rally and give the Phoenix Suns a 96-88 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Suns guard hit just 3-of-13 shots in Wednesday's 91-80 loss to Utah but proved far more accurate in this one. Marbury made 8-of-19 shots and dished out nine assists.
"Stephon Marbury did an oustanding job running the team, finding people and getting them shots," Suns coach Frank Johnson said. "I thought he was outstanding today, running it, distributing it, and when he had to make plays at the end, he made them."
Phoenix led 79-68 with 6:38 remaining. But Memphis went on a 9-2 run to climb within 81-77 just over 2 1/2 minutes later.
The Suns responded with a 7-0 spurt to regain control and avoid a third straight loss. Marbury hit a jumper during the burst, then made another with the shot clock winding down to build the lead to 92-84 with 45 seconds to play.
"It's still a six-point game with two seconds left on the clock and we just didn't cover the backdoor screen," Memphis coach Hubie Brown said. "I'll be darned if Marbury doesn't hit the shot."
Shawn Marion led Phoenix with 20 points and Amare Stoudemire added 18. Newcomer Jahidi White started at center and added 13 points and five rebounds. White was acquired from Washington before Wednesday's game for guard Brevin Knight.
"I'm just glad to be here," White said. "Glad to play with a bunch of guys that work hard and with a point guard like Stephon, and it makes what I am supposed to do easier."
"Whenever you have a big body like that, you have to throw the ball low," Marbury said. "It is going to take time getting used to the offense. We have a lot of plays, but he'll get used to it."
Pau Gasol led Memphis (2-3) with a season-high 23 points, besting Stoudemire in a matchup of former Rookies of the Year. Shane Battier contributed 14 points and Lorenzen Wright added 10 off the bench as no other Grizzlies starter reached double figures.
"They dominated the rebounds and that really hurt us," Gasol said. "We missed a lot of shots and we didn't get enough offensive rebounds."
The Suns shot 54 percent (11-of-21) in the first quarter, building a 27-18 lead. Penny Hardaway's jumper with 7:47 left in the second made it 36-24, but the Grizzlies closed the half with a 17-10 stretch and climbed within 46-41 at intermission.
The Suns took their largest lead, 71-55, with three minutes to go in the third quarter. But Memphis answered with a 12-4 run to get within 75-68, then held Phoenix to one point in the first four minutes of the final period.
The Grizzlies' poor 3-point shooting, defense and rebounding might have been the deciding factors. Memphis missed its first 12 shots from beyond the arc and finished 4-of-27. It shot 40 percent (32-of-80) overall.
"We shot 4-of-27 from threes," Brown said. "We can't be any more open than we were."
"The threes were wide-open and we couldn't put them in," added Grizzlies guard Earl Watson, who missed all four 3-pointers. "I think it's more of a mental thing."
Phoenix entered the game shooting 39 percent but connected at 48 percent (39-of-81). The Suns outscored Memphis in the paint, 44-24, and had a 47-30 advantage on the boards as the Grizzlies' starting frontcourt grabbed just three rebounds.
"It was an exasperating night," Brown said. "Not only do they whip us with the rebounds, they kill us in the paint. They're going inside, something is happening. We go inside and we're getting nothing."
