Warrick scores 18 to lead Suns' first win

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Hakim Warrick scored 18 points in a reserve role, and the Phoenix Suns won for the first time this young season while handing the New Orleans Hornets their first loss, 93-78 on Friday night. Channing Frye added 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Suns, who had opened the season with two losses, one to New Orleans in their home opener Monday night. Jared Dudley added 16 points, while Steve Nash dished out 12 assists. Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon missed a second straight game with a bruised right knee, and this time New Orleans could not compensate for the prolific scorer's absence. Carl Landry led New Orleans with 17 points, while Emeka Okafor had 10 points and 16 rebounds, but the Hornets shot only 29 percent (26 of 90). Marcin Gortat scored 12 points while playing with a splint on his injured right thumb. Shannon Brown added 11 points and Grant Hill 10 for Phoenix, which shot 42 percent (33 of 78). Warrick was 6 of 12 from the floor and 6 of 7 on free throws. Jarrett Jack scored 12 points and Marco Belinelli grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which outrebounded Phoenix 57-47 and had 24 offensive boards, more than any team in the NBA so far this season. The Hornets had 23 second-chance points, but could have had a lot more if not for their shooting woes. The Hornets got away with poor shooting through the first half, keeping the game close with defense and rebounding, but it finally caught up with them halfway through the third quarter, when they were still just below 30 percent again (17 of 59). Nash pulled up for a 3-pointer to give the Suns a 61-51 lead. Dudley then scored inside after baiting Chris Kaman to leave his feet on a ball fake. Frye followed with a 3 from the corner that fell through after a high bounce off the rim. Then Gortat capped a 10-0 run with an inside basket that made it 68-51. New Orleans responded with a brief 10-2 surge but was unable to make up enough ground to get any closer than nine points the rest of the way. New Orleans hit only four of its first 20 shots (20 percent), but trailed only 16-14 at that point because of its typically tough defense and rebounding. The Hornets were 10 of 35 halfway through the second quarter, but still trailed by only four at that point after Okafor's free throws. Soon after, the Suns raced to their first double-digit lead when Nash fueled a 6-0 spurt with fast-break feeds to Hill for a layup and Warrick for a dunk, making it 43-33. New Orleans finally got over 30 percent -- barely -- in the final minute of the second quarter when Belinelli hit his second 3 and Greivis Vasquez set up Okafor's dunk to make it 52-45 at halftime. NOTES: Brown got a technical foul in the second quarter for arguing with officials. ... Suns coach Alvin Gentry also was called for a technical foul in the second quarter. ... New Orleans entered the game having won four straight against Phoenix, including the last three meetings last season. ... A near scuffle occurred early in the fourth quarter between the Suns' Robin Lopez and New Orleans' Trevor Ariza, who were each assessed technical fouls, but Brown and Jack quickly stepped between them before it escalated. ... New Orleans' offensive rebound total was higher than they had in any game last season.