PHOENIX -- Now in his fourth year in the NBA, Aaron Gordon has improved his floor game and his 3-point shooting.

So have the Orlando Magic.

Gordon scored 22 points and continued his scalding shooting from behind the 3-point line as the Magic blew open a see-saw game early in the fourth quarter to beat the slumping Phoenix Suns 128-112 on Friday night.

Gordon, a career 28.9 percent 3-point shooter coming into the season, made both his 3-pointers and is now an NBA-best 59.5 percent (25 of 42) through 12 games. It's a big reason the Magic are off to an 8-4 start, their best since the 2011-12 season (9-3).

"I'm pretty confident in it," Gordon said of his 3-point shot. "It's just a lot of reps after practice. When people leave me open, I step up and knock it down. When it's not there, I try to make the right play. I love passing. Assisting is fun."

Nikola Vucevic had 19 for Orlando, which is 4-0 against the Western Conference. Terrence Ross and Jonathan Simmons added 17 each for the Magic, among six players in double figures.

Orlando coach Frank Vogel said Gordon's maturity has extended beyond his shot.

"Aaron played a wonderful basketball game," Vogel said. "Not just making shot when the ball swings to him. His lack of forcing things, which has also been an issue early in his career ... he just let the game come to him tonight.

"He had a chance to take some 'heat check' shots, but he made the extra pass. He's playing the right way and out team is playing the right way."

Alex Len had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Phoenix (4-9), which has lost five straight and the first three games of a seven-game homestand. A 64-63 game at halftime was all Orlando from there.

"We said to our guys at halftime, the first team that plays defense is going to win," Phoenix interim coach Jay Triano said. "They came out and got stops, we struggled to score, so their defense was better."

TJ Warren scored 20 points and rookie Josh Jackson had a career-high 18 points for the Suns, who lost veteran forward Jared Dudley to a right knee sprain in the third quarter. Jackson had 16 of his points in the first half.

"I went to the basket. I think it's what I'm best at and it was working for me tonight," said Jackson, the fourth overall pick from Kansas.

Triano and Jackson were two of four Suns to receive technical fouls out of frustration in the second half.

"Oh, yeah, we definitely did (get frustrated). It happens. The (referees) are human. They're not great. Certain officials are different than others, I'm definitely learning that."

The Suns shot 56 percent from the field in the first quarter, but Orlando was even better, hitting 15 of 24 and 13 of 17 inside the 3-point line. All five starters had at least six points and the Magic led 36-32 after one.

Orlando pushed the lead to 43-34 on Shelvin Mack's layup with 10:18 left in the half before the Suns rallied. Guard Mike James hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Devin Booker fed Len for a fast-break dunk to cap a 12-1 run that put Phoenix up 50-46 with 5:45 left.

Jackson had 16 first-half points, 12 in the second quarter. His rebound of a James miss just before the halftime buzzer pulled Phoenix within 64-63 at the half.

Orlando took control with a 16-2 run to open the third quarter, with Gordon scoring eight points and Evan Fournier making it 82-67 on two free throws with 6:55 left.

The Suns answered with nine straight points of their own, with Dragan Bender's 3-pointer pulling Phoenix within 82-76 with 3:53 to go.

But the Magic came right back with seven straight and Simmons' jumper just before the buzzer restored the Orlando lead to 97-83.

The Magic used a 16-5 run early in the fourth quarter to stretch their lead to as many as 25 points.

NOTES: Phoenix C Tyson Chandler (back spasms) missed his second straight game. ... Orlando coach Frank Vogel said Magic G Elfrid Payton "was dealing with a lot of soreness" from a hamstring injury that has cost him eight of the last nine games. He gutted out 17 minutes. ... Suns G Mike James entered the game with 147 points, the most by a Phoenix rookie through 12 games since Michael Finley (181) in 1995-96. ... Orlando averaged 11.9 3-pointers per game and ranked second in 3-point percentage at 40.5 percent. Last season, the Magic were 29th at 32.8 percent.