Rockets at Suns
The road has been unkind to Houston of late, while Phoenix is making big strides at home. The Rockets will try to reverse their fortunes away from home against the surging Suns when the teams meet Friday night in Arizona. Despite a 33-point performance from James Harden, Houston dropped the opener of a three-game road trip with a 126-113 loss at Golden State on Wednesday, falling to 3-5 over its last eight games on the road.
Meanwhile, Phoenix's 118-113 win over Portland on Wednesday was its sixth straight at US Airways Center and made the Suns 4-0 on a season-long eight-game homestand. Eric Bledsoe scored a career-high 33 points and Isaiah Thomas added a season-high 27 off the bench as Phoenix topped 110 points for the third straight game. Harden was one of five Rockets in double figures in a 100-95 home win against the Suns earlier this season, when Houston's star center Dwight Howard was sidelined with a knee injury.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports Southwest (Houston), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (29-14): As Houston continues its style of chucking up loads of long-range shots, the overall struggles of veteran Trevor Ariza stand out a bit more. Ariza was 2-of-9 from the floor in the loss to Golden State and has been held to single digits in scoring for three straight games, the second such streak this month. The journeyman, who is 7-of-23 from 3-point distance over the last four games, is shooting a career-low 37.1 percent overall and his 3-point accuracy has dropped to 33 percent from 40.7 last season in Washington.
ABOUT THE SUNS (26-18): Thomas scored a total of 11 points in a pair of rough outings to begin the homestand but is averaging 25.5 points in the last two while shooting 20-of-28 from the floor. He has also made 7-of-12 triples in that stretch and went 28 minutes without a turnover in the win over Portland, just his fifth turnover-free performance of the season. Thomas, who was absent due to an ankle injury in the previous meeting with Houston, shoots 49.4 percent at home and 40.7 percent on the road.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Suns' seven-game home win streak is their longest since an eight-game run in 2009-10.
2. Harden is 28-of-31 from the line over the last two games.
3. The Rockets continue to lead the NBA in 3-point attempts per game (33.5) while the Suns are third (26.9).