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One of the more competititve games on the NBA schedule took place Sunday at US Airways Center in Phoenix as the Suns hosted the New Orleans Hornets, who are fresh off a loss to the Sacramento Kings Saturday.

This matchup paired two teams that are polar opposites of each other; the Hornets don’t score tons of points yet have the best defense in the National Basketball Association, while the Suns are reminiscent of the Golden State Warriors in that they score lots of points while giving up even more.

Based on that alone, Phoenix held up their end of the bargain while New Orleans defense slumped – if at least for a game.

While the first half was neck-and-neck, the Suns took over the third quarter and the Hornets took over the fourth; however, it took a Grant Hill block of a Marcus Thornton inside shot to allow Phoenix to stave off a late New Orleans rally and take the 104-102 win.

The Suns turned things around for themselves in the third quarter as they scored 35 points to turn a 53-all tie at the intermission into a into an 88-80 lead going into the fourth quarter. The lead increased to 100-88 on a Steve Nash-to-Marcin Gortat dunk with 5:03 left to go in the game.

Chris Paul drained a 3-pointer with 17.2 seconds remaining to cut it to 104-99; Trevor Ariza’s steal of an errant Grant Hill pass and three free throws by Paul later, the lead was now 104-102.

New Orleans got the ball back with ten seconds left when Nash stepped out of bounds trying to control a Hill inbounds pass; Hill preserved the win for Phoenix when he blocked a Thornton inside shot with 3.9 seconds left on the game clock and Paul’s desperation 3 fell short as the final horn sounded.

Six Suns players scored in double-digits, led by Gortat from off the bench wth 25 points, along with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks while Hill added 16 with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a block. Vince Carter chipped in 12 with 2 rebounds and 2 assists while Nash earned a double-double, scoring 10 5 rebounds, 15 assists and 2 steals.

The Hornets were led by Paul with 26 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists and a steal while David West added 17 with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Ariza poured in 16 with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.

Phoenix (22-24) plays again on Wednesday when they host the Milwaukee Bucks while New Orleans (31-18) returns home to host the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.