Rockets 96, Suns 89
Luis Scola scored 16 points and the Houston Rockets rode another sensational performance from their bench to a 96-89 victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.
Patrick Patterson added 14 points to lead five reserves in double figures as the Rockets won their third straight and snapped the Suns' three-game winning streak.
One night after getting 66 points from its bench in a victory at Portland, Houston received 57 points from its second unit in beating Phoenix for the eighth time in the last 10 meetings.
Starting point guard Kyle Lowry scored 14 points despite playing with a strained elbow suffered Wednesday night and backup Goran Dragic added 11 points and 11 assists.
The Rockets went ahead for good when Chase Budinger and Dragic buried 3-pointers in an 8-0 run for a 92-85 edge with 3:12 to play. Budinger had 12 points and seven rebounds to help Houston dominate the backboards 44-31.
Jared Dudley rallied the Suns from a 10-point halftime deficit, scoring half the points in a 16-3 run for a 60-57 lead. Phoenix hit six 3-pointers in the quarter for a 76-74 lead entering the fourth.
Houston used a 17-3 second-quarter spurt by its bench to open a double-digit lead and carry a 54-44 lead into halftime.