Jan

7

Suns Rally From Double-Digit Deficit, Burn Rockets 118-110

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap 

Steve Nash (#13)

Wednesday night’s game between the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns had to be arguably the best game of the night during a heavy NBA schedule. While rallying from double-digit leads is nearly commonplace during the season, it is rare that two players on the losing team have career nights.

Despite career highs in scoring from Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry, Houston wasted a 16-point advantage as Phoenix rallied and came from behind to earn a hard-fought 118-110 victory. It was a fast and furious game marked by a series of remarkable runs. It was the second time this season the Suns had rallied from a 16-point deficit in back-to-back games, their only two wins in eight tries in back-to-backs.

Phoenix looked like they would run Houston off the court quickly, bursting to a 21-5 lead in the first 4:55. The spurt included a 15-0 run, including 3s by Steve Nash and Channing Frye. Then, Landry came in and made an immediate impact. The Rockets put on an incredible run, outscoring the Suns 51-19 over the next 13:46, and instead of trailing by 16, Houston surged ahead 56-40 with 5:55 left in the half. At that point, the Suns had scored only four points in the second quarter. A late rally led by Stoudemire helped Phoenix cut the deficit to 60-53 at the half.

The third quarter was another series of runs. The Suns scored the first seven points of the period, tying the game at 60. But Houston answered with an 8-0 streak and was up 70-64 when the Suns countered with an 13-3 spurt, sparked by Nash and Jason Richardson. After that, the teams traded baskets, with Houston leading 86-85 at the end of the period; Nash had 13 points in the quarter.

Leandro Barbosa’s trey helped the Suns take a six-point lead with 9:10 left in the game; with 2:21 remaining, Channing Frye drained a 3, which helped the Suns seal the win. With the victory, Phoenix is now 14-3 at US Airways Center.

Four Suns scored at least 20 points, led by Nash with 26 points, 2 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals while Amare Stoudemire scored a “quiet” 25 with 11 rebounds, an assist and a steal; Frye drained 22 (including six 3-pointers) with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 3 blocks while Richardson chipped in 20 with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block.

The Rockets were led by Brooks with a career-high 34 points (including 6 treys), 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while Landry came off the bench to score a career-high 31 with 10 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and a block; Trevor Ariza chipped in 15 (including 4 three-pointers) with 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Phoenix (23-13) plays again on Friday when they host the Miami Heat while Houston (20-16) returns home to host the New York Knicks on Saturday night.


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