Brewer, Ariza lead Rockets past Suns
Houston Rockets guard Corey Brewer (33) drives between Phoenix Suns guards Devin Booker (1) and Jordan McRae during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, in Phoenix. AP
PHOENIX, Arizona—Corey Brewer scored 24 points and Trevor Ariza 22 to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.
The Rockets won despite a 4-for-19 shooting night by James Harden, who finished with 17 points, more than 10 under his average. Dwight Howard grabbed 16 rebounds in the 200th meeting between the teams.
Archie Goodwin led the Suns with 22 points, while Alex Len added 12 with a career-high 18 rebounds and Devin Booker had 17 points as Phoenix lost its sixth straight.
Mirza Teletovic scored the Suns’ first 10 points of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 91-90. Jordan McRae’s layup and free throw gave Phoenix a 95-91 lead with 6:47 to play, but Houston rallied and regained the lead behind two 3-pointers from Brewer and one each from Ariza and Harden.
Brewer sank a 3 with 1:10 left after two offensive rebounds by Patrick Beverly that gave the Rockets a 108-101 lead.
The Rockets raced out to a 77-66 lead in the third quarter, with Brewer scoring 11 points in less than six minutes and Ariza punctuating a 21-7 run out of halftime with a back-to-the-basket transition layup. Back-to-back 3s for Ty Lawson gave Houston an 83-71 lead with 3:20 to go.
The Suns committed 10 turnovers in the quarter.
The Rockets took an 88-80 lead into the fourth quarter after Goodwin’s running 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Suns, the start of a comeback from the 12-point deficit.
Phoenix led by as many as 15 at 20-5, with Houston making just two of its first 10 shots. The Rockets trailed by as many as 13 in the second quarter. Houston rallied from that deficit to tie it at 51 on Josh Smith’s 3-pointer, and Smith’s free throw put the Rockets in front 52-51 with 2:02 left in the first half.
Booker banged knees with Smith late in the second quarter and had to sit, but Morris hit three free throws in the closing seconds and the Suns led 59-56 at halftime.
The two current youngest head coaches in the NBA went head-to-head – both interim coaches. Suns coach Earl Watson, who took over on Feb. 1 after the firing of Jeff Hornacek, was at the helm for his second game, while Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been on the job since Nov. 18. Both are 36 years old, although Watson is three months younger.
