Beverley, Troy Williams lead Rockets over Suns
PHOENIX -- Patrick Beverley and Troy Williams set career highs with 26 and 21 points, respectively, and the short-handed Houston Rockets had plenty of offense for a 123-116 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
Lou Williams scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half and 12 in the fourth quarter for the Rockets, who hit 14 3-pointers.
Eric Gordon added 22 points and Nene had 17 for Houston (52-25), who ended a season-worst three-game losing streak despite playing without starters James Harden (flu), Trevor Ariza (death in family) and Ryan Anderson (ankle). The Rockets lost a fourth starter when Sam Dekker broke his left hand and exited with 5:20 remaining in the game.
The Rockets put up 59 points in the first half -- including 18 by Troy Williams in his Houston debut and 13 points and seven assists by Beverley, who had a sore right ankle and was a game-time decision. Beverley finished with nine assists and eight rebounds.
Houston swept the season series over the Suns (4-0) for the first time since the teams began playing in 1968-69.
Tyler Ulis had a career-high 34 points and added nine rebounds and nine assists for the Suns, who have lost 12 straight games overall and seven in a row at home. Devin Booker added 23 of his 27 points in the second half and 14 in the fourth for Phoenix (22-56).
Houston led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter, with Gordon and Beverley scoring eight points each. Troy Williams, who was recalled from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the Developmental League and arrived in Phoenix late Sunday morning, hit six of eight shots in the first half.
But the Suns, who had 16 offensive rebounds in the first half --five different players had at least two -- and caught the Rockets midway through the second period. Ulis had 12 points in the quarter and Jared Dudley had back-to-back 3-pointers during a 10-0 Phoenix run that tied the game at 47-47 on a Ulis layup with 4:59 left.
Troy Williams' fifth 3-pointer with 54 seconds left gave Houston a 59-54 lead at the half. Ulis and Beverley each had 11 points in the third quarter and the Rockets took a 90-83 lead to the fourth.
The Suns got as close as three points at 99-96 on a Marquese Chriss put-back dunk with 7:20 left, but Lou Williams followed a layup with a 3-pointer to make it 104-96 Houston with 6:49 to go.
NOTES: Suns F TJ Warren missed the game with an illness, and G Leandro Barbosa (hamstring) remains out. Derrick Jones Jr. replaced Warren in the starting lineup. ... Suns F Dragan Bender returned to action after missing 31 games with an ankle injury that required surgery. "We're excited. He's part of our core, our young core," Phoenix coach Earl Watson said. Bender finished with nine points and seven rebounds. ... Rockets G James Harden and F Trevor Ariza both missed a game for the first time this season, leaving F Sam Dekker as the only Rocket to play in all 77 games so far. ... Houston F Ryan Anderson missed his fifth consecutive game.