Cleveland ? LeBron James struggled to defend Joe Johnson, leading to a third straight loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Johnson tied a career-high with 31 points as the Phoenix Suns hurt Cleveland’s playoff hopes with a 103-86 win Tuesday night.

The Cavs’ three-game losing streak — all the losses coming at home — was preceded by a seven-game winning streak. Two of the defeats came without point guard Jeff McInnis, but he returned Tuesday night and the Cavaliers still allowed another team to jump out on them early.

The loss left the Cavaliers just a half-game ahead of Boston for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

“The bottom line is what do we have inside. What are we made of?” Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. “And we’re going to find out very soon.”

Amare Stoudemire had 21 points and 11 rebounds in 46 minutes and Shawn Marion scored 20 as Phoenix never trailed. The Suns won back-to-back games for the first time since winning four straight in mid-January.

“This team is learning what it takes,” Stoudemire said. “We know what it takes — that’s going out there and playing defense.”

James finished 8-for-21 for 25 points. Carlos Boozer scored 19 and had 14 rebounds.

The Cavaliers lost Zydrunas Ilgauskas after he broke his nose banging into and fouling Stoudemire in the third quarter. Ilgauskas, who had 14 points, planned to see a doctor today.

“Losing ‘Z’ was big. He was a big part of us coming back,” Boozer said.

Joe Johnson of Phoenix, left, battles Cleveland's LeBron James for the ball. Johnson scored 31 points to help the Suns defeat the Cavaliers, 103-86, Tuesday night in Cleveland.

The Cavaliers shot a season-low 31 percent while the Suns shot a season-high 57 percent. Johnson shot 14-for-23, with many of his points coming against James.

“I’m still learning,” James said.

Silas said his team wasn’t pressing. He said the Cavs just didn’t contest enough shots.

“It’s not the end of the world to lose three games in a row,” Silas said.

Jazz 85, Wizards 77

Salt Lake City — Andrei Kirilenko had 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, seven blocked shots and four steals to lead Utah past Washington. The Jazz moved half-game ahead of Denver for eighth place in the Western Conference. Raja Bell scored 19 points and Gordan Giricek had 12 points for Utah.

Bucks 112, Kings 101

Sacramento, Calif. — Michael Redd scored 26 points and Keith Van Horn had 22 points and 11 rebounds, helping Milwaukee defeat Sacramento.

Nets 84, Bulls 81

Chicago — Lucious Harris started for the injured Jason Kidd and scored 19 points with three key fourth-quarter baskets to help New Jersey defeat Chicago. Richard Jefferson led the Nets with 20 points, and he and Harris each had 10 rebounds. The Nets broke a three-game losing streak and are now 1-2 without injured standouts Kidd and Kenyon Martin, both of whom have knee injuries.

Hornets 82, Pistons 81

New Orleans — Jamaal Magloire’s last-second jumper gave New Orleans a victory over Detroit, snapping the Pistons’ eight-game winning streak.

Grizzlies 95, Raptors 86

Memphis, Tenn. — Pau Gasol scored 29 points, Stromile Swift added 21 points and 13 rebounds and Memphis forced Toronto to miss two-thirds of its shots. Gasol shot 10-of-16 as Memphis won for the 10th time in 12 games. Vince Carter, who led Toronto with 30 points, keyed a fourth-quarter rally.

T’wolves 86, Spurs 81

Minneapolis — Sam Cassell had a triple-double despite being guarded by defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, and Minnesota extended its Midwest Division lead to three games by defeating San Antonio.