Rockets at Suns
The Phoenix Suns continue to fall on the short end of close games this season and they’ll try to reverse that trend when they host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. The Suns have lost four games this season on buzzer-beaters, including their matchup against the visiting Rockets on Jan. 23, when James Harden hit a 20-footer at the buzzer in a 113-111 victory. The Suns lost on another last-second shot Sunday by DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings, who were without Rudy Gay and Darren Collison.
The good news for Phoenix is leading scorer Eric Bledsoe is expected back after missing Sunday’s game so he could be home in Alabama with his wife as they expected their first child. It’s the only game Bledsoe has missed this season after he sat out a combined 72 regular-season games the previous two seasons. The Rockets will need to get through another 6-8 weeks without second-leading scorer and top rebounder Dwight Howard, who has already missed the last seven games with a bothersome knee, which he initially injured in the last meeting against the Suns.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (35-16): Harden has tried to pick up the scoring void left behind by Howard, averaging 28.4 points in the last seven games to ease his scoring average to a league-leading 27.5. He scored 33 in the win against Phoenix last month to bump his scoring average to 20.3 in 19 career games against the Suns. He finished with 45 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in Sunday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to lead both teams in all three categories while scoring at least 45 points.
ABOUT THE SUNS (29-24): Phoenix is not only expected to get Bledsoe back, but center Alex Len has been listed as probable by coach Jeff Hornacek after missing the last two games with an ankle injury. Len is averaging just 6.2 points but is tied for the team lead at six rebounds a game and could make things tough on Houston with its lack of depth in the middle. The Suns need to find their groove from outside as well, shooting 5-for-28 from long distance in their last game after connecting on 14-of-27 from beyond the arc the game before against the Utah Jazz.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The four buzzer-beater losses by the Suns is tied for the most in a single season by an NBA team since the Jazz in 2006-07.
2. The Rockets are 13-6 without Howard this season and beat the Suns in the game in which he suffered his latest injury after playing just eight minutes.
3. Phoenix is averaging 95.4 points in its past eight games, which is 12 points below its average during the first 45.