NEW ORLEANS — Steve Nash had 24 points and 13 assists, and the Phoenix Suns survived a late New Orleans rally to take a 105-100 victory over the Hornets on Wednesday night.

Shaquille O'Neal had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Nash made six free throws in the final 42 seconds to give the Suns the cushion they needed to hold on.

Chris Paul had 29 points and 16 assists, and David West had 28 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which trailed by 14 early in the fourth quarter but got as close as 100-97 on Peja Stojakovic's 3-pointer with 26 seconds to go.

Phoenix, coming off a demoralizing 140-116 loss at Dallas on Sunday, had to win to keep its slim playoff hopes alive and also needed Dallas to lose to Utah later Wednesday night. The Suns beat New Orleans for the first time in two seasons with a balanced effort as five players scored in double figures. Jason Richardson had 17 points. Grant Hill and Jared Dudley each added 10.

Hill hit a pair of key jumpers in the last three minutes.

Nash was 7-of-9 from the field and made all nine of his free throw attempts. O'Neal was 7-of-10 from the field, which only raised his NBA-leading 61 percent field goal percentage for the season, and the Suns shot 58 percent (37-of-72) as a team.

Stojakovic finished with 18 points for New Orleans and Rasual Butler had 10. New Orleans reserves were unable to contribute much, however, and were outscored 28-11 by the Suns' reserves.

The Hornets led 53-49 after Paul's jumper opened scoring in the second half, but Phoenix began to take command soon after.

Nash had seven points and six assists in the third quarter, guiding Phoenix to a pair of 8-0 runs and helping the Suns outscore New Orleans 26-14 in the period. Richardson turned one Nash pass into a fast-break layup as he was fouled, putting Phoenix up 67-57 midway through the quarter. Richardson had nine points in the period, and the Suns took a 75-65 lead into the final quarter.

Early in the fourth, Dudley's third 3 of the game gave Phoenix its largest lead at 80-66. The Suns again led by 14 when Goran Dragic was left alone for a 3 with 9:35 to go.

West almost single-handedly made a game of it in the fourth, when he scored 16 points despite getting his fifth foul on a charge with 6:31 left. His reverse layup pulled New Orleans to 90-85 with 3:40 left.

New Orleans had a shot to cut it further on its next possession, but Nash drew a charge on Paul — Paul's fifth foul — with 3:21 to go. Still, West kept the Hornets in it with his fall-away as he was fouled by Dudley, making it 92-88.

Hill then responded with a 17-foot jumper and the Suns held on from there.

Notes: The Suns beat the Hornets for the first time in seven games, avoiding a second-straight season sweep. ... West has scored 20 or more points in seven of eight games. ... Paul has scored 20 or more points in 16 of 19 games. ... The Suns snapped a four-game road losing streak.