Howard's 34 points propel Rockets by Suns
HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard had 34 points and 14 rebounds and the Houston Rockets picked up their fourth straight victory, 122-108 over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
It was the fourth consecutive game with at least 20 points for Howard, who also had three steals and two blocks, and James Harden added 23 points for Houston.
The Suns cut it to four points with about 6 minutes left before Houston went on a 10-3 run to make it 113-102. The Rockets capped that run when Harden knocked down a 3-pointer, Howard blocked Goran Dragic's shot, and Chandler Parsons added a layup.
Phoenix missed four shots, had a turnover and a shot-clock violation in that span.
Dragic had 23 points and eight assists for the Suns, who have dropped two in a row after winning five straight.
Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones added 19 points each for Houston, which was playing the second of just three home games this month.
Houston scored six straight points early in the fourth quarter to push its lead to 101-92. The Suns responded with a 7-2 spurt, started with a 3 from Leandro Barbosa, to get to 103-99 midway through the period.
The Suns trailed by 12 points late in the third quarter before going on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to 95-90 entering the fourth quarter. Dragic had six points in that run and Barbosa scored the rest.
The Rockets scored the first six points of the third quarter before Gerald Green outscored Houston 6-1 over the next 2 minutes of the quarter to cut the lead to 73-69.
Houston was up by seven a few minutes later when Harden got knocked to the court hard when Channing Frye backed into him. Harden remained on the court wincing in pain while the game continued and Tucker made a shot. Harden finally got up after the bucket and remained in the game.
Howard scored four quick points after that as part of a 9-2 run that extended Houston's lead to 92-80 with 3 minutes left in the quarter.
The Suns took their first lead of the game, 41-40, about 9 minutes before halftime after outscoring Houston 11-5 in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Marcus Morris scored the last six points of that run before Dragic hit a 3 and Ish Smith added a basket to extend the lead to 46-40.
Houston got back on track after that with a 9-2 spurt that put the Rockets back on top 49-48.
The Rockets led by one a few minutes later before a 6-0 run, capped by an alley-oop by Howard, pushed the lead to 61-54.
Houston led 66-63 at halftime.
The Rockets led by 12 points with about three minutes left in the first quarter before Phoenix used a 12-5 run to cut the lead to 35-30 entering the second quarter. Markieff Morris had four points in that span and Dragic capped it with four points.
Howard made all of Houston's points during that time as the rest of the Houston's shooters went cold.
Game notes
Houston G/F Francisco Garcia missed his ninth straight game with a sore left knee. ... It was the sixth straight game with at least 20 points for Dragic, the longest streak of his career.
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