advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson views his team as young and still a work in progress.The Suns, however, seemed to take a critical step on the defensive end Wednesday night in a 92-87 victory over Orlando that concluded an otherwise disappointing road trip.With Devin Booker, Eric Bledsoe and Alex Len leading the way, Phoenix limited the Magic to just 36 percent shooting from the field and only 28 percent shooting from 3-point range.Our defensive presence was on point tonight, said Watson, whose team snapped a two-game losing streak and finished the six-game trip 2-4. We got two wins, we could have gotten more. Were not content with anything.Were a young team, were working, were headed in the right direction. That was a total team effort tonight.Len had 17 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two blocked shots in the paint. Bledsoe had 16 points as all five starters finished in double figures -- and P.J. Tucker came off the bench to put 10 points.The victory didnt salvage the road trip but it certainly allowed the Suns to feel like they have momentum as they head home.This was a must-win for us, Bledsoe said. We came up short in Washington and Philly. This one we had to cap off before heading back home.The most impressive part stepping up on defense, where Phoenix (5-11) has been among the NBAs worst. But Wednesday night they had solid help defense and gave Orlandos shooters few open shots.Evan Fournier led the Magic (6-9) with 25 points and Nikola Vucevic added 21 points, but none of the other starters hit double figures. Jeff Green went 0 for 7 from the field and Serge Ibaka was just 2 for 5 from the field and finished with only five points.Im very pleased with how unselfish we were, Watson said. They played selfless and it showed on the defensive end.For the Magic it was another frustrating night shooting the ball. With Green now in the starting lineup in place of Aaron Gordon, the only consistent scoring off the bench has come from D.J. Augustin, who had 12 points Wednesday.We just had a number of guys have bad nights, Magic coach Frank Vogel said.TIP-INSSuns: Forward T.J. Warren missed his second straight game with what coach Earl Watson described as a head injury. ... Chandler is still missing from the team after the death of his mother. ...The Suns will now play their next three games at home. They dont hit the road again until Dec. 3 when they face Golden State.Magic: Coming into Wednesday nights game, the Magic had held their previous six opponents to a combined 92.3 points per game and 41 percent shooting from the field. .. .With the addition of center Bismack Biyombo this season, the Magic are averaging 5.57 blocks, which ranks sixth in the NBA.DOMINATING THE PAINTLen had a particularly strong performance for the Suns in the paint. He was 6-for-10 from the field, hit 5 of 6 free throws and four of his 12 rebounds came on the offensive end.Hes amazing, Watson said. Hes growing every game. We absolutely love him.MISSING THE POINTFor second straight game, Magic point guard Elfrid Payton was sitting on the bench for much of the critical fourth quarter while Augustin played the bulk of the minutes. Payton logged just 4:30 minutes in the final quarter.We needed some shooting out there, so I left D.J. in there longer than usual, Vogel said.UP NEXTSuns: Phoenix hosts Minnesota on Friday.Magic: Orlando hosts Washington on Friday. Paul Molitor Jersey Large . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Cheap Custom Brewers Jersey . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. http://www.custombrewersjersey.com/ . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Cheap Brewers Jerseys . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Authentic Custom Brewers Jersey . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Jimbo Fisher has seen this scenario before.A coach takes over a long-struggling program, more than a decade removed from its most glorious days and is asked to resuscitate it quickly. And in that coachs first season, a win over his teams biggest rival serves as that springboard back to prominence.Thats what happened for Fisher and Florida State in 2010.And thats what Mark Richt and Miami will try to repeat now.The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (4-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) host No. 23 Florida State (3-2, 0-2) on Saturday night, looking to snap a six-year losing streak in the storied series and perhaps cement themselves as a true contender in the ACCs Coastal Division.Its a huge game, Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya said. It sways recruiting. It sways fan bases. It sways seasons.Richt has been part of this series as a Miami player and Florida State assistant coach. He now gets a taste of it as a head coach for the first time, though is trying to avoid the hyperbole that almost always accompanies the buildup to a Miami-Florida State clash.What we need to do, Richt said, is do our job the way were being taught to do it.Florida State hasnt lost back-to-back games since 2011 -- the Seminoles fell at home to North Carolina last week on a field goal at the final horn -- and needed heroics from star running back Dalvin Cook to rally from fourth-quarter deficits to beat the Hurricanes in each of the last two years.This is one of the games you came to Florida State to play in, said Cook, a Miami native.Florida State -- widely touted as a national-title contender coming into the season -- is probably out of the ACCs Atlantic race already, though Fisher has insisted theres plenty of meaningful football left to play.Miami is a very good team, Fisher said. I dont know if theyre Top 10, but theyre undefeated. Playing very well. ... We need to perform at a very high level to have a chance to have success, and thats what our goal is and thats what our intentions are.Heres some of what to know going into Florida State-Miaami:POLL WATCH: Florida States streak of 75 consecutive appearances in the AP Top 25 -- the second-longest current run behind Alabamas 137 -- is in jeopardy.ddddddddddddA loss almost certainly would leave the Seminoles unranked for the first time since the Nov. 20, 2011 poll. A win would give Miami a chance at its highest ranking in 11 years; the Hurricanes went to No. 3 in 2005, and havent been past No. 7 since.STORM PASSES: The Miami area was minimally affected by Hurricane Matthew, which skirted past the area before lashing much the coastline on the Atlantic side of Florida with incredibly intense wind and rain Friday and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. Florida State was able to fly south Friday morning, about a half-day behind what the Seminoles originally scheduled.ONLY TWO: Miamis Mark Walton and Joseph Yearby have touchdown rushes in all four Hurricane games this season. Theyre the only FBS running-back duo in the country with a TD run apiece in each of their teams games this season. Also, Miami is one of two FBS schools to not trail yet this season, with Boise State being the other.KAAYA WATCH: There are two players since 2000 with multiple 300-yard passing games against Florida State -- and both are Miami quarterbacks. Ken Dorsey did it in 2000 and 2002, and Brad Kaaya has thrown for 316 and 405 in his first two outings, respectively, against the Seminoles. Florida State gave up exactly 405 yards passing last week as well, to North Carolinas Mitch Trubisky.DRIVE FOR FIVE: Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois will try to become the fifth consecutive Seminole starter to win his debut game against Miami, joining Christian Ponder (2008), EJ Manuel (2011), Jameis Winston (2013) and Everett Golson (2015). The last Florida State quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in his first start against Miami and lose was Chris Rix in 2001. Rix wound up going 0-5 against the Hurricanes. ' ' '