Suns win 4th straight, roll past Hornets 128-97

PHOENIX (AP)— Cam Johnson didn’t need much time on the floor to do somedamage.

Johnsonscored 24 points in just 18 minutes, Dario Saric added 19 off thebench and the Phoenix Suns won their fourth straight game bybeating the Charlotte Hornets 128-97 on Tuesday night.

The four-gamewinning streak has helped the Suns make a huge jump in the jumbledWestern Conference race — all the way from 12th to sixth. Beforethe recent winning streak, they had lost 12 of 14.

“It’s the NBA— you weather storms. It’s life — you weather storms,” Johnsonsaid. “Things don’t always go your way. We’ve found that out thepast couple years. That doesn’t mean you tuck tail, run, sell thefarm, hide away forever.

“We have alot of confidence in our group. Top to bottom.”

The Sunsbuilt a 30-point lead midway through the second quarter, thoughCharlotte cut it to 58-50 early in the third. Phoenix rebuilt itslead to 98-77 by the fourth before cruising to the comfortablevictory.

Johnson was hot from theoutset, scoring 16 points in seven minutes in the first quarter bymaking all six of his shots, including four 3-pointers. The forwardwas playing in his third game since returning from a knee injurythat kept him out more than two months. He’s knocked the rust offquickly, shooting 9 of 11 from the field against the Hornets,including 6 of 7 from 3-point range.