Barbosa leads Suns past Grizzlies

These have been tough days for Leandro Barbosa. While he struggles to grasp the Suns’ new offense and tempo after missing much of training camp, his mother, Ivete, still lies unresponsive in a Sau Paulo hospital.

Barnes, Bell return after daddy duty

Her youngest son misses the several daily chats on the phone, rarely going more than a few hours without making contact. He has several religious necklaces around his neck along with pictures of his mom, keeping him close.

But Monday, when the rest of the Suns were in a sluggish malaise against the improving Memphis Grizzlies, it was Barbosa who was upbeat and aggressive. And while the Suns really needed his 27 points — 16 of which came in the fourth quarter — to hold off the Grizzlies 107-102 at US Airways Center, Barbosa might have needed them more.

“It was the first time that I was feeling good, feeling like I could shoot and go to the basket and help,” said Barbosa, who helped the Suns beat the Spurs on opening night but had been of little help since. “I wasn’t having fun and I didn’t have any energy.

Everyone has been patient. But I think this game is going to help me.”

Phoenix has beaten the Grizzlies nine straight times, but none of the others felt like this one. The Suns needed everything Barbosa could give to keep up with Memphis rookie O.J. Mayo, who was blowing up on the other end. A night after setting his career high in Denver with 31 points, the former USC standout topped it with 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter.

“He’s a heck of a player,” Suns guard Steve Nash said.

Barbosa hit two 3-pointers in the final three minutes, and each one wiped out a Memphis leads and put the Suns back in front. The last one, with 43.8 seconds left, put the Suns up for good. Memphis had a chance to respond, but after fumbling the ball around early in the possession, Marc Gasol committed the Grizzlies’ 16th turnover of the night.

Nash pushed the lead to three with two free throws before Mayo got one last chance. With Barbosa guarding him, his 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds left was too strong, and the Suns survived for their sixth win in their first eight games.

“We took our foot off the pedal a little bit,” said Suns guard Raja Bell, who had a big 3-pointer of his own with 3:28 left in the game but had all sorts of trouble slowing down Mayo. “They have one of those teams where they’re really talented across the board, and if you give them an ounce of life, that’s all they need to get their confidence going.”

After another sloppy first half that included 12 turnovers, a 1-for-7 shooting effort on 3-pointers and only 44 points, Phoenix finally seemed to be cruising when a Barbosa layup pushed the lead to 82-65 with a minute left in the third quarter.

But the Grizzlies closed the quarter on a 5-0 run and then unleashed Mayo, who scored 13 of the first 15 Memphis points in the fourth, including a pair of 3-point bombs and a 10-footer that sliced the Phoenix lead to 87-85 with 8:42 left.

Barbosa answered, scoring 11 straight Suns points to keep the team afloat. After driving to the basket for a 3-point play to push the Phoenix lead back to five, coach Terry Porter left Barbosa on the floor and took out Grant Hill instead, leaving the Suns with three guards down the stretch.

“I was concerned we were a little bit small with Raja (Bell) and L.B., but L.B. was rolling so well, I just wanted to keep him in there,” Porter said. “He was really explosive, and he found his game tonight.”

That extra confidence boost can only help. Before the game, Barbosa stared into space as he talked about the helplessness that comes with feeling that he should be on both sides of the world at the same time.

“I’m far away from my mom and I haven’t talked to her for awhile, but everything is going to be OK,” he said. “I worry about her when I’m off the court, but now I have to get focused when I’m on the court.”