Scrappy Suns Scrape Past Pelicans

It wasn't easy at any point in the Phoenix Suns' ultimate 115-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, though they got it done on the first night of a four-game road trip.

It was a fairly sloppy game by each side from start to finish -- especially in the shooting department. New Orleans and Phoenix shot 20% from downtown.

Devin Booker, who historically has had success when playing in New Orleans, paced Phoenix with 30 points while Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 20.

Phoenix now emerges to 17-13 on the year. They'll be right back at Smoothie King Center on Saturday night for the second game of a back-to-back.

Quick recap:

First Quarter

The two sides swapped buckets through the early stages of the first quarter, though Phoenix began to pull away in the later parts of the quarter before settling with a 26-23 advantage at the end of the first.

Mark Williams finished the quarter with six points and five rebounds while the two sides shot a collective 4-16 from three-point land. The Suns had seven turnovers as New Orleans was ultra-aggressive in shooting passing lanes with anticipation.

Second Quarter

The Suns' night took an unfortunate turn as second-year forward Ryan Dunn went down with an injury and was forced out of action. You can read more about that here.

Phoenix managed to keep a short distance between them and New Orleans through the stretch of the second, ultimately carrying a 53-48 lead into the locker room.

Only two players (Williams and Jordan Poole) had double-digit points at halftime. Phoenix had a whopping 31 rebounds (12 offensive to New Orleans' six). The Suns led 73% of the first half.

Third Quarter

After a shot-clock malfunction that caused a delay to the second half, the Suns and Pelicans finally got third quarter action underway.

Dunn, who went out earlier in the game, was ruled available by the Suns for the second half.

Phoenix went on a quick 7-0 run to start the third quarter, which prompted a Willie Green timeout to organize the troops.

Whatever Green said worked, as New Orleans eventually went on their own run (partly thanks to technical foul free throws given by Dillon Brooks) to draw Phoenix's lead down to one -- forcing Ott to call timeout.

The Suns ultimately carried a 81-80 lead to the fourth.

Collin Gillespie went down in the final moments of the third with what appeared to be a groin injury, though he appeared to be fine.

New Orleans shot 16 free throws in the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Pelicans knotted the score at 85-85 in the opening minutes of the fourth, thanks to an 8-0 run with Booker and Brooks on the bench.

With their stars back on the court, the Suns pushed themselves back in the lead as New Orleans and Phoenix exchanged blows down the stretch of quarter until the Suns built a five-point lead with just under a minute left.

Booker hit the free throw line with 30 seconds left to push their lead to six, which proved to be too much for New Orleans to overcome before the final buzzer.