CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek would have preferred to coast to the finish Friday night. His young players seemed determined not to make it that easy on him. The Suns nearly squandered a 17-point lead in the final 4 minutes before escaping with a 98-91 victory over Charlotte. The Bobcats got within five in the final minute, but couldnt get over the hump. "Im not sure what we were doing out there for a while, but well take it," Hornacek said with a sense of relief in his voice. "We lost the last four games so well take any win regardless of how it looks." Channing Frye scored a season-high 20 points and P.J. Tucker was perfect from the field as the Suns beat the Bobcats for the fourth consecutive time. Tucker scored 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting. He drained three 3-pointers and his only miss of the night came on a late free throw. Goran Dragic added 14 points and eight assists two nights after scoring 31 in a loss to Sacramento. Gerald Green chipped in with 14 points and Markieff Morris had 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench. "Man, Ill take a win but that was pretty sketchy at the end," Frye said of the series of missed shots and turnovers in the final 4 minutes. "Were young and still trying to figure out (how to close games), but winning is winning. Ill take that any day of the week." Gerald Henderson scored 17 points and Kemba Walker had 16 to lead the Bobcats, who have lost three of four. Al Jefferson returned to the starting lineup and had nine points and six rebounds after missing the previous four games with an ankle injury. The Suns led 74-63 early in the fourth quarter when they went on a 10-0 run, with Green knocking down a baseline jumper and Frye and Marcus Morris connecting on 3-pointers to push the lead to 21. That brought boos from the home crowd in Charlotte for the first time under new coach Steve Clifford with 9 minutes left in the game. "It was like we were a step slower and we made some mental mistakes and turned the ball over," Jefferson said. "We just didnt have it tonight." Still, the Bobcats showed theyre starting to get used to playing with a low post presence like Jefferson, something Clifford has said would take some time given how little Jefferson played in the preseason due to ankle issues. On one possession, Henderson fed Jefferson in the low post, got the ball back and then returned it to Jefferson, who scored on a layup while drawing a foul. "We have to learn to play off Al," Clifford said. "They played small and when teams play like that we need to be able to pound them. We have to be able to get him the ball. Again, thats not an easy thing. Post-up basketball, as Ive said before, is the hardest thing to get good at." Said Jefferson: "I think its just a matter of game reps. (But) its not something Im panicking about." The Suns jumped out to a 55-44 lead in the first half behind 11 points from Frye. Miles Plumlee was strong on the boards early for the Suns and finished with 11 rebounds. Walker, who excited Bobcats fans Wednesday night with 31 points against Brooklyn, scored just three on 1-of-3 shooting in the first half and Charlotte didnt make a 3-pointer. The Suns continue their road trip with stops in Orlando and Miami. "We needed a win," Tucker said. "Its been a tough four games for us. Were on the road now and needed to get a win. It got a little crazy at the end out here, but we finished and got the win." Frye said it helped that the Suns didnt put pressure on themselves for a change. "Were just having fun out there," he said. "I think I was more relaxed today. When you start losing everything you start to get real tight, so we cant be like that. We just have to get out there and have fun." NOTES: With Jefferson back in the lineup, Bobcats centre Bismack Biyombo didnt play after averaging more than 20 minutes over the previous four games. ... Charlotte finished 3 of 14 from 3-point range -- with all the field goals coming in the fourth quarter. ... Dragic has scored in double figures in six straight games. Marlon Mack Jersey . -- The guys in green raced off the court and into the locker room where they danced and sang, compared whose shot was most likely to end up featured on "One Shining Moment," and checked Twitter to see who was giving them a shoutout. Matthias Farley Jersey . Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night. http://www.officialindianapoliscoltsfootball.com/authentic-quenton-nelson-jersey-womens . -- The court fight over NFL concussions should heat up soon as a judge in Philadelphia weighs the fairness of the proposed $765 million settlement. Darius Leonard Jersey . Los Angeles announced its new deal for Kupchak late in the fourth quarter of a 145-130 loss to the Houston Rockets. Kupchak had one year left on his current contract. Marvin Harrison Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes hope they now have the leadership tandem in place to turn the franchise around.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Steve Blake scored 13 of his 19 points in the third quarter, Pau Gasol and Nick Young each had 16, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 111-106 Friday night in the preseason finale for both teams. Gordon Hayward led Utah with 18 points and seven rebounds, and Alec Burks had 18 off the bench. Rudy Gobert got 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Jazz keep it close. A moment of silence was observed at Honda Center for Hall of Famer Bill Sharman, who coached the Lakers to their first NBA championship in Los Angeles in 1971-72 -- when they won a franchise-record 69 games and a league-record 33 in a row. Sharman died Friday at age 87 after suffering a stroke last Saturday. He had been a special consultant with the organization for the previous 23 seasons. Trailing by 15 points after three, the Jazz got as close as 100-96 on Lester Hudsons 3-pointer with 5:41 remaining. Hayward led Utah to a 53-51 halftime lead with 16 points, eight of them at the end of a 19-2 run that turned an 11-point deficit into a 48-42 advantage with 2:27 left in thhe second quarter.dddddddddddd But the Lakers opened the third with a 20-6 run that put them ahead 71-59, and they increased the margin to 88-73 on Blakes 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds left in the quarter. The Lakers finished the preseason 4-4. It was their first training camp under coach Mike DAntoni, who was hired five games into last season after the team started out 1-4 under Mike Brown. The Lakers open the regular season Tuesday night against the Clippers, who won all four meetings last season. Utah will host Oklahoma City in its opener on Wednesday night after finishing its exhibition schedule a league-worst 1-7. "Im looking forward to it," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "Weve made some great strides in the exhibition season. Were starting over in some ways, so performance and consistency is going to be a key for us, along with how were going to perform in certain situations. "Its going to be different and theres going to be a lot of adjustments, so we have to make sure we stay on top of it and keep ourselves growing as much as we can." 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