Suns work OT to beat Bobcats

In a training camp that has seen a little bit of everything — indoors and out — why not toss in a double-overtime game as well?

For no good reason, the Suns and Charlotte Bobcats battled for 58 minutes Monday at US Airways Center. The official record will show a 111-108 Suns win, more a battle of attrition than anything else. The Suns held the Bobcats — with three starters on the floor and seemingly much more interested in winning — scoreless for the final 2:44, with three bench players (Boris Diaw, Goran Dragic and Robert Hite) playing with five fouls each.

“I was trying to make some shots and trying to stay on the floor because I knew Raja (Bell) didn’t want to come back in,” said Hite, who had 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, allowing Phoenix to rally from six points down.

Charlotte certainly helped Phoenix to the finish. Shannon Brown earned a head-scratching eight-second violation after stealing the ball in the second overtime, and the Bobcats surrendered when Raymond Felton stepped out of bounds before trying a 3-pointer that could have extended things even longer with two seconds left.

The Suns played without Steve Nash (ankle) and Alando Tucker (hamstring), but Amaré Stoudemire saw his first action of the season and managed 11 points in 17 minutes — bringing the crowd to its feet with a hammer slam over Charlotte rookie Alexis Ajinca.

“Amaré looked good,” Suns coach Terry Porter said. “He came with good spring, good energy, and made some strong moves to the basket. And I thought Leandro Barbosa (seven points in 21 minutes) looked good for his second game.”

“Personally, I felt great,” Stoudemire said. “The rhythm wasn’t quite where I want it to be, but other than that, I played solid defense and was able to get involved offensively.”

All the Suns looked good early, especially on the defensive end, where Porter felt they had regressed on last week’s Eastern road trip. The Suns allowed just 38 points in the first 21 minutes and led by 15 before they got sloppy on both ends and lost control of the game. They finished with 25 turnovers — and the offense put the defense in bad situations.

“We had about five possessions where we passed up shots we should have taken and ended up with a tougher shot or a turnover,” Porter said. “When the offense gives you a shot, you have to take it with confidence.”

The Suns had 55 points at the half but needed 34 minutes after intermission to match that total. Shaquille O’Neal had 18 points and nine rebounds in his 27 minutes, while Dragic got 41 minutes of experience — good and bad (eight points, eight assists, five turnovers, five fouls). With Nash out, Barbosa limited and Sean Singletary slowed by a bad back, Matt Barnes (18 points, seven rebounds) wound up spelling Dragic as the point guard.

BONUS SHOTS: Nash was able to work out on his own Monday and said that if it was a regular-season game, he would have been able to go. But the Suns will continue to be cautious with their veteran point guard. He will sit out tonight’s game in Los Angeles against the Clippers with an eye on playing in Thursday’s preseason finale against Oklahoma City. “I’ve gotten a lot of time on the court, and one more game should be more than enough,” Nash said. “When I tweaked it (Sunday), it was more frustrating than painful. It’s not bad.” ...

Grant Hill was back in the starting lineup and had a good first-quarter stint with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Porter said the small forward spot is still undecided but admitted that the fact that Hill is used to starting and Barnes is used to coming off the bench might play a role in his final decision. …

Tucker missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury, but said he was very close to returning. With Nash and Tucker out, Barbosa got some time to further acclimate himself to the new system after missing the first two weeks of camp.

… Stoudemire didn’t seem to have much trouble wearing goggles for the first time in a game, but lifted them to his forehead to shoot free throws. ... O’Neal is likely to sit out tonight to keep him fresh for the start of the regular season. He made his first four free throws of the game but missed six of his last eight, leaving him 10-for-24 (.417) this preseason.

Suns at Clippers
What: NBA preseason game
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
TV: None
Radio: KTAR (620 AM)