Houston Rockets 88 Phoenix Suns 97-Recap

Dec 4, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard Francisco Garcia (32) drives the ball during the first quarter as Phoenix Suns shooting guard Goran Dragic (1) defends at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets have ran into one injury too many. Without Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik, and Jeremy Lin, the Suns were able to hold the Rockets to a season low 35 percent shooting en route to a 97-88 win.

Eric Bledsoe led the way with 20 points and 7 assists, while Goran Dragic scored 19 points. P.J. Tucker added 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals, while holding James Harden to just 14 points on 3 for 17 shooting.

The Rockets started off poorly, shooting just 29 percent(14 for 47) from the field in the first half, while missing their first seven 3-point attempts. 12 first half turnovers led to 17 fast-break points for the Suns, and the Rockets found themselves down 51-40 at halftime.

Aaron Brooks and Omri Casspi started the 2nd half in place of Francisco Garcia and Terrence Jones, which would give the Rockets a quick boost. An 8-2 run in the first 4 minutes of the 3rd quarter cut the lead to just 5. The Rockets made just 2 3-pointers in the first half, but drained 4 in the 3rd quarter alone to make it a 63-61 game. But a 3-pointer by Channing Frye, and another 3 from Tucker boosted a 10-0 run for the Suns to take a 12 point lead into the 4th quarter.

Phoenix Suns

STARTERS

MIN

FG

3PFG

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

33

6-12

2-6

0-0

0

6

6

3

2

1

0

4

+21

14

40

8-13

2-2

0-2

4

2

6

4

4

0

1

4

+18

18

21

2-7

0-0

0-0

4

5

9

0

0

2

2

3

+1

4

40

7-14

3-4

3-4

0

3

3

7

2

1

4

1

+11

20

41

6-11

2-5

5-6

0

2

2

1

4

1

4

4

-5

19

BENCH

MIN

FG

3PFG

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

21

2-8

0-0

4-4

0

4

4

1

0

0

3

2

+3

8

22

3-5

2-3

0-0

0

6

6

1

1

0

0

2

+2

8

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

+2

0

4

1-1

0-0

0-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

-1

2

18

1-8

0-4

2-2

0

4

4

0

0

1

3

3

-7

4

DNP SORE LEFT ANKLE

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP COACH’S DECISION

TOTALS

FG

3PFG

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Fast break points:   26
Points in the paint:   42
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   20 (13)

Houston Rockets

STARTERS

MIN

FG

3PFG

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

36

4-11

0-0

7-9

8

10

18

0

1

0

5

2

-18

15

24

4-9

0-1

0-0

3

4

7

1

0

1

2

2

-13

8

42

4-10

2-5

2-2

3

5

8

2

2

0

1

3

+4

12

28

3-9

2-7

0-0

1

4

5

1

0

0

1

3

-10

8

41

3-17

0-10

8-8

0

4

4

2

1

0

5

4

-20

14

BENCH

MIN

FG

3PFG

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

6

0-1

0-0

0-0

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

+4

0

31

6-13

2-3

0-0

3

4

7

1

1

0

5

3

+9

14

33

7-18

3-5

0-0

2

2

4

6

3

0

2

3

-1

17

DNP SPRAINED RIGHT KNEE

DNP SORE BACK

DNP COACH’S DECISION

DNP RIGHT THIGH CONTUSION

DNP SPRAINED RIGHT KNEE

TOTALS

FG

3PFG

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Fast break points:   14
Points in the paint:   40
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   23 (25)

Coach Kevin McHale made another adjustment to start the 4th quarter, putting Jones at center, and gave the Rockets a quick boost again. Brooks drained a 3 with 7 minutes left, which marked a 13-2 Rockets run to bring them within 1. That would be the closest that the Rockets would get, as the Suns answered back with a 12-0 run of their own. Former Rocket Marcus Morris made all 3 of his 3-point attempts in the 4th quarter, and drained the dagger from the right corner to push the Suns lead to 91-82 with just over a minute left.

Harden was unable to find a rhythm all game, facing double teams and sometimes triple teams, while dealing with the physical defense of Tucker. He scored just 6 points in the first half, and shot 0 for 10 from behind the 3-point line. Dwight Howard added 15 points and 18 rebounds, while Brooks led the way with 17 points and 6 assists.

The injuries had a clear effect, and Harden’s struggles all game didn’t help, but the Rockets did shoot themselves in the foot, committing 23 turnovers against the NBA’s top fast-break scoring team. The Suns turned those miscues to 26 fast-break points, and shot 48 percent from the 3-point line(11 for 23).