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What We Learned From #SunsAtHornets

"This is our Finals. We have to win this game."

Those were P.J. Tucker's words Wednesday before the Suns took on the Hornets after dropping their last six games.

The Hornets, however, won the first meeting this season that actually snapped a five-game winning streak by the Suns in the series, including both meetings in each of the last two seasons.

Luckily for the Suns, Wednesday featured a different outcome as Phoenix outscored Charlotte 29-18 in the fourth quarter to win, 111-106.

Here are the things that stood out from #SunsAtHornets:

3. Ultra small-ball

Looking to ignite a spark when the Suns' offense was struggling, Jeff Hornacek went ultra small. Literally.

Down 17 in the second quarter, Hornacek went with the small-ball lineup of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, Gerald Green and P.J. Tucker.

That meant that Tucker had to guard big Al Jefferson for a period of time (with help from Gerald Green). It worked; Jefferson didn't score in the quarter.

Furthermore, Hornacek knew the Suns rank 2nd in the NBA with 18.0 fast break points per game this season, and these players are the collective definition of fast.

It was worth the gamble; the lineup cut the Hornets' lead from 17 down to seven and helped the Suns' offense get into a better rhythm.

2. The Return of the The Dragon

The Suns sorely missed Goran Dragic in the last two games, and his presence against the Hornets was a major factor in the win.

Sure, Dragic finished with 20 points and eight assists on 8-of-17 shooting, but just being on the floor opened things up for Isaiah Thomas and Gerald Green off the bench who scored 23 and 16 respectively.

1. The will to win

It sounds tired, but the Suns absolutely needed to win this game.

But they knew that. Perhaps more significantly, they played like they had to win.

Their rebounding was better (43-35 on the boards), and their defense forced the Hornets into fewer points allowed each subsequent quarter (31, 30, 26, 19). Additionally, Charlotte missed nine of their last 11 shots from the floor.

Six Suns players finished in double-figures in scoring led by Thomas' 23.

Remarkably, the Suns shot 52 percent on the night which means Phoenix has now won 27 straight games dating to the start of the 2013-14 season when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.