SEATTLE - Before the not-so-pretty details follow, there are some important facts to impart up front.

Suns notebook: Suns hope Sonics stay put
Read Jerry Brown's blog, 'Rim Shots'

The Suns have now won six games in a row for only the second time all year — and the first time since early November — by overcoming their own sloppiness and a renewed effort from the recently embarrassed Seattle

Sonics in Wednesday’s 110-98 victory at Key Arena. They are 24 games over .500 for the first time all year and have pulled even in the win column with the latest co-leaders of the topsy-turvy Western Conference, New Orleans and the Los Angeles Lakers, and are tied with Houston just a half-game back.

They continue to shoot the lights out (57 percent), especially from 3-point range, where they made 15 of their 21 tries against the Sonics, including an uncanny 11 of 13 in the third quarter. And for the first time since Dec. 4-5, the Suns won road games on back-to-back nights.

OK, here comes the not-so-good stuff:

• The Suns committed a season-high 27 turnovers, leading to 32 Seattle points and turning what could have been a laugher — the Suns led by 13 with a minute left in the first quarter — into a full night’s work.

• Raja Bell, who made all six of his 3-pointers, put the defensive clamps on Seattle rookie Kevin Durant and was in the midst of his best run of basketball all season, suffered a right ankle sprain when he came down on Durant’s foot with 2:57 left in the third quarter. X-rays were negative, but head trainer Aaron Nelson said the sprain was at least Grade 1, if not Grade 2. Bell will likely miss at least Saturday’s showdown with the Rockets in Phoenix.

“The foot was in my landing area when I came down. That happens when you challenge shots,” Bell said. “The (sprains) when you are in the air and bring your whole weight down on them tend to be the most serious.

“I’m usually not a guy who swells, and this one is swelling, so that’s not good. It’s pretty sore. I’ll probably have a better feel for it (today).”

Bell finished with 20 points, and the Suns are now 10-0 when he gets to 20 this year.

• Against a team with only 16 wins — and one that had allowed an embarrassing 168 points to Denver on Sunday — the Suns made it harder on themselves than it had to be.

“I had a bad game through three quarters. No excuses, I was just bad,” said center Amaré Stoudemire, who overcame a career-high nine turnovers and five missed free throws to collect 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. “My passes, my catches, my free throws … it was all no good. But it’s all about the fourth quarter and I was able to finish strong and we closed it out.”

The Suns leaned on Steve Nash, who was sloppy himself at times (six turnovers) but still produced 23 points and 11 assists.

“We were a tired team and we made a lot of mental errors. But we played well enough to win,” Nash said. “We wanted it to be an easy game and it just doesn’t work that way. This can’t be our best. We’re getting better, but we have to continue to improve and focus on being a finished product for the playoffs.”

The Suns also played without guard Gordan Giricek, who sat out with a right quadriceps contusion suffered in a collision in Portland on Tuesday.