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
Channing Frye33
6-12
2-6
0-0
0
6
6
3
2
1
0
4
+21
14
P.J. Tucker40
8-13
2-2
0-2
4
2
6
4
4
0
1
4
+18
18
Miles Plumlee21
2-7
0-0
0-0
4
5
9
0
0
2
2
3
+1
4
Eric Bledsoe40
7-14
3-4
3-4
0
3
3
7
2
1
4
1
+11
20
Goran Dragic41
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
Markieff Morris21
2-8
0-0
4-4
0
4
4
1
0
0
3
2
+3
8
Marcus Morris22
3-5
2-3
0-0
0
6
6
1
1
0
0
2
+2
8
Slava Kravtsov0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
+2
0
Archie Goodwin4
1-1
0-0
0-1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
-1
2
Gerald Green18
1-8
0-4
2-2
0
4
4
0
0
1
3
3
-7
4
Alex LenDNP SORE LEFT ANKLE
Ish SmithDNP COACH’S DECISION
Dionte ChristmasDNP COACH’S DECISION
TOTALS
FG
3PFG
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
Fast break points:Â Â Â 26
Points in the paint:Â Â Â 42
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):Â Â Â 20 (13)
Houston Rockets
STARTERS
MIN
FG
3PFG
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
+/-
PTS
Dwight Howard36
4-11
0-0
7-9
8
10
18
0
1
0
5
2
-18
15
Terrence Jones24
4-9
0-1
0-0
3
4
7
1
0
1
2
2
-13
8
Patrick Beverley42
4-10
2-5
2-2
3
5
8
2
2
0
1
3
+4
12
Francisco Garcia28
3-9
2-7
0-0
1
4
5
1
0
0
1
3
-10
8
James Harden41
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
Donatas Motiejunas6
0-1
0-0
0-0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
+4
0
Omri Casspi31
6-13
2-3
0-0
3
4
7
1
1
0
5
3
+9
14
Aaron Brooks33
7-18
3-5
0-0
2
2
4
6
3
0
2
3
-1
17
Greg SmithDNP SPRAINED RIGHT KNEE
Chandler ParsonsDNP SORE BACK
Ronnie BrewerDNP COACH’S DECISION
Omer AsikDNP RIGHT THIGH CONTUSION
Jeremy LinDNP SPRAINED RIGHT KNEE
TOTALS
FG
3PFG
FTM-A
OREB
DREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
Fast break points:Â Â Â 14
Points in the paint:Â Â Â 40
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):Â Â Â 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).