Ariza totes load until offense shakes rust
PHOENIX — Once the Rockets got into gear, they smacked around what is left of the Phoenix Suns as if there never should have been those early minutes of doubt.
The Rockets should be expected to romp past the shell of the Suns with the game serving to shake off the AllStar break rust more than prove much about their quest for a late-season run back to where they thought they’d be all along.
The Rockets’ 116-100 blowout Friday night, even against a Phoenix team that has lost 10 straight and 25 of 27 games, did serve a purpose beyond snapping a three-game losing streak.
Rockets update
Friday: Rockets 116, Suns 100. Record: 28-28. Tuesday: At Utah, 8 p.m. TV/radio: Root; 790 AM, 850 AM (Spanish).
The Rockets are heading into much tougher tests. Beginning with next week’s road games against Utah and Portland, teams battling with them for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot, and the return home to face San Antonio, the Rockets got the feel-good win they needed after their limp into the All-Star break.
Pat Beverley got the Rockets off to a good start and finished with a season-high 18 points. Trevor Ariza carried them when no one was getting shots to fall. He finished with 25 points with six rebounds and five steals as the Rockets moved to 12-0 in the past two seasons when he scores at least 20. James Harden eventually got it going, too, scoring a game-high 27 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
With that, it almost did not matter that the Rockets’ bench struggled badly through much of the game. For all the angst and tension the Rockets brought into the break and the run-up to the trade deadline, they at least could no longer be considered broken.
It took much of the first half for anyone but Ariza to find his shooting touch, but the Rockets held the Suns to 35.8 percent shooting while forcing 21 turnovers and building their lead to as many as 27 points.
The Rockets were deep into the customary shooting funk after the All-Star break. That is common and to be expected. But with five minutes left in the half, they had made four of their 20 shots, scor- ing 33 points in the first 19 minutes of the game and missing all kinds of open looks.
Ariza displayed no signs of being off for 10 days, scoring 15 points in the half with the Rockets going 12 minutes in which they had just only field goal by anyone else. The Rockets kept the game tight by defending the Suns well, allowing few open shots while forcing turnovers.
When they finally got some shots to go, many by getting out on the break and moving the ball rapidly, the Rockets went from a four-point deficit to a blowout. In the 10 minutes to end the first half and start the second, the Rockets outscored the Suns 41-13, pushing their lead to 25 points.
Much of that came from turning the Suns’ turnovers into points on the other end. But moments after the Rockets had their largest lead, they went to their bench and stumbled badly through the rest of the third quarter.
Through three quarters, the Suns’ bench outscored the Rockets’ 33-10 with Ty Lawson and Jason Terry a combined 0-for-7. Josh Smith moved into the starting lineup, but played with the reserves after the Rockets took their lead and through three quarters was 1-of-7.
The starters, however, were having no such dif- ficulties.
Even against the zone that had the backups bogged down, they moved the ball easily, either finding Dwight Howard in the middle to distribute the ball to Ariza in the corner.
With the 25-point lead reduced to 16, the Rockets’ starters pushed it open again, allowing the starters to dance through the final minutes on the bench, enjoying the night as they had not in several weeks.