Brown's 3-pointers lift Suns over Bobcats 117-110

"I think he's very capable of doing that," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "He can get on a roll. He had some games for us last year. I thought he did a great job. And I thought he did a pretty good job defensively, too."

The Bobcats trailed 60-46 at the break after shooting just 33 percent in the first half.

Charlotte bounced back to tie the game at 85 early in the fourth quarter after Mullens and Tyrus Thomas began to heat up from the outside. Thomas finished with 10 points and gave the Bobcats a lift off the bench.

But Charlotte couldn't get over the hump and take the lead.

Still, Dunlap liked the way his team fought back from 14 down in the third quarter.

"We have a good push back in us and that's tagged to good character," Dunlap said. "So the signs are there that that is going to be a positive — that we don't let go of the game. We extended a lot of effort."

Dunlap came into the game worried about the Bobcats defending the paint and, sure enough, Gortat gave them fits inside in the early going as the Suns led by as many as 14 points. He dominated early on both ends of the court and hit 10 of 14 shots, almost all of those within a couple feet of the basket.

NOTES: Charlotte played without Gerald Henderson, who will be out two to four weeks with a sprained left foot. Jeffery Taylor, the team's second-round draft pick, started in Henderson's spot, giving the Bobcats two rookies on the floor for the opening tip. Taylor played 11 minutes and failed to score. ... Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 pick in the draft, had nine points and eight rebounds. ... The Suns had two players with double-doubles in Beasley and Gortat, the first time that has been accomplished by a pair of Phoenix players since Channing Frye and Gortat on March 22, 2011.