NEW ORLEANS - Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry never had a problem with his teams effort and figured it was only a matter of time before the Suns would snap out of their shooting slump and secure their first victory of the young season. Hakim Warrick scored 18 points in a reserve role, Channing Frye added 10 points and 16 rebounds, and the Suns handed the New Orleans Hornets their first loss, 93-78 on Friday night. "When you look at the schedule and youre 0-2, you think theres a chance youll go 0-66," Gentry said. "You look at the schedule after you win and you say, Oh, we can do this or we can do that. Its all psychological ... though. Youve just got to go out and play. Weve been doing a good job of competing, but our offence has been so stagnant. Tonight, we got out and ran." Jared Dudley added 16 points, while Victorias Steve Nash dished out 12 assists for the Suns, who had shot 40 per cent through two losses to open the season, including one to New Orleans in their home opener Monday night. "We made a few more shots, but more than that, we continually created offence," Nash said. "To be consistent in creating good offensive opportunities was a step in the right direction because in the first game against New Orleans, I thought we missed some shots we usually make. But in our second game (against Philadelphia), we just looked really hesitant, out of synch and kind of like we were dumbfounded a little bit." Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon missed a second straight game with a bruised right knee, and this time New Orleans could not compensate for the prolific scorers absence. Carl Landry led New Orleans with 17 points, while Emeka Okafor had 10 points and 16 rebounds, but the Hornets shot only 29 per cent (26 of 90), the second worst shooting performance in team history. "Weve got scorers on this team. Everybody on this team can average double-digit points. Just the ball didnt fall," Landry said. "Its unusual for a team to shoot (29) per cent for the game. Unfortunately that was something we did tonight. It will turn around." Gentry thought his teams intensity on the defensive end, more so in terms of contesting shots than rebounding, played a big role in the Hornets shooting struggles. "We did a great job of challenging everything at the rim," Gentry said. "It wasnt our offence. It was our defence that won the game." Suns centre Marcin Gortat scored 12 points and blocked four shots while playing with a splint on his injured right thumb. Shannon Brown added 11 points and Grant Hill 10 for Phoenix, which shot 42 per cent (33 of 78). Warrick was 6 of 12 from the floor and 6 of 7 on free throws. Jarrett Jack scored 12 points and Marco Belinelli grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which outrebounded Phoenix 57-47 and had 24 offensive boards, more than any team in the NBA in this first week of the season. The Hornets had 23 second-chance points, but could have had a lot more if not for their shooting woes. "We didnt play hard, and thats a sign I didnt do what we needed to do ... to have the team ready," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "We couldnt throw it in the ocean. That happens on occasions, but our defence was not there tonight." The Hornets got away with poor shooting in the first half, but it finally caught up with them halfway through the third quarter, when they were still just below 30 per cent again (17 of 59). Nash pulled up for a three-pointer to give the Suns a 61-51 lead. Dudley then scored inside after baiting Chris Kaman to leave his feet on a ball fake. Frye followed with a three from the corner that fell through after a high bounce off the rim. Then Gortat capped a 10-0 run with an inside basket that made it 68-51. New Orleans was unable to get any closer than nine points after that. New Orleans hit only four of its first 20 shots (20 per cent), but trailed only 16-14 at that point. Halfway through the second quarter, the Hornets were 10 of 35, but still trailed by only four after Okafors free throws. Soon after, the Suns raced to their first double-digit lead when Nash fuelled a 6-0 spurt with fast-break feeds to Hill for a layup and Warrick for a dunk, making it 43-33. New Orleans finally got over 30 per cent -- barely -- when Belinelli hit his second three and Greivis Vasquez set up Okafors dunk to make it 52-45 at halftime. Notes: Brown got a technical foul in the second quarter for arguing with officials. ... Gentry also was called for a technical foul in the second quarter. ... New Orleans entered the game having won four straight against Phoenix, including the last three meetings last season. ... A near scuffle occurred early in the fourth quarter between the Suns Robin Lopez and New Orleans Trevor Ariza, who were each assessed technical fouls, but Brown and Jack quickly stepped between them before it escalated. ... New Orleans offensive rebound total was higher than they had in any game last season. Wholesale Jerseys China . "Todd had a three-month interview," Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. "He passed it with flying colours." The Blue Jackets announced Monday that they were removing the word "interim" from Richards job title and had offered him a two-year contract to continue what he started in an upbeat second half of the 2011-12 season. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China .C. -- After stopping 74 shots in a little over 24 hours, Henrik Lundqvist was nearly too exhausted to talk. http://www.wholesalejerseysdeals.u... . This week they discuss Kyle Lowrys All-Star blessing, Coach Q, unheralded undraftees and leaving the NFL playoffs alone. [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysdeals.us.com/]Wholesale Jerseys . The Canadian catcher belted his career-best 20th home run of the season Friday as the New York Yankees continued their playoff push with a convincing win over Toronto. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Injuries played a contributing role in the Buffalo Sabres midseason swoon. And the Sabres are going to have to deal with them again if they intend to complete a late-season playoff push. Defenceman Christian Ehrhoff is out indefinitely after hurting his left knee. Coach Lindy Ruff wouldnt put a timetable on his recovery Wednesday, except to say Ehrhoff will "miss some time." Ehrhoff was hurt a day earlier in the first period of a 5-1 win over Washington. Thats when he was in front of his own net and knocked knees with Capitals forward Troy Brouwer, who was driving into the crease. The injury is a considerable blow to a team in the midst a late-season playoff surge. The Sabres (38-29-10) have won five straight and are 7-0-2 in their past nine in a run thats jumped them two points ahead of Washington and into sole possession of the Eastern Conferences eighth and final playoff spot. With five games left, Buffalo is off until hosting Pittsburgh on Friday. Ehrhoff was one of the Sabres key off-season acquisitions, and has developed into one of their steadiest defencemen. He leads the team in averaging 23:03 of ice time, and Buffalo defencemen with 32 points (five goals, 27 assists). Mike Weber will fill Ehrhoffs spot, returning to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past four games. Ehrhoffs importance was evident earlier this season when he missed 11 games with a rib injury. The Sabres went 2-7-2 without him. Buffalo has gone 19-5-5 since, with Ehrhoffs return coming at a time when the Sabres also welcomed back defenceman Robyn Regehr and centre Tyler Ennnis from injury.dddddddddddd "I think dealing with one injury is maybe better than what we had to deal with in the past," said Ruff, who at one point was missing as many as nine regulars. "We have to deal with it. We have to face a little adversity, and we need players to step up." The Sabres stepped up against the Capitals, particularly in the second period when they were missing both Ehrhoff and defenceman Andrej Sekera, who limped off after being struck by a shot. Down to three blue-liners after Robyn Regehr was penalized for hooking, Buffalo responded with captain Jason Pominville scoring a short-handed goal to make it 4-1. Sekera was given the day off from practice Wednesday, but is expected to play against Pittsburgh. Center Derek Roy missed practice due to the flu. Defenceman Tyler Myers is impressed by how the Sabres have surged into playoff contention, while noting the jobs not done yet. "I think last game was a big statement game for us," Myers said. "But in saying that, we dont want to focus on it too much. We want to look ahead and make sure we win our next five here." Notes: After Drew Stafford scored twice against the Capitals, he and his linemates, Ennis and rookie Marcus Foligno, have combined for 17 goals and 38 points in their past nine games. ... G Ryan Miller stopped 44 shots and improved to 14-1-3 in his past 18 games, in which hes allowed 32 goals. ... LW Jochen Hecht, whos 29 games with a concussion, says hes been symptom-free for about two weeks, but still hasnt been cleared for contact. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '