PHOENIX — Houston forward Corey Brewer had a season-high 24 points and made two 3-pointers in the final two minutes in the Rockets’ 111-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Thursday.
Brewer hit back-to-back threes from the left corner, the second on a third-chance possession, and forward Trevor Ariza had 20 points as the Rockets survived a subpar shooting night from guard James Harden.
Harden had 19 points on 4-of-19 shooting the field. He entered the game with a 27.9 point scoring average, second in the league to Warriors guard Steph Curry. Harden had nine rebounds and six assists.
Brewer’s 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining gave Houston a 108-101 lead.
Archie Goodwin made a driving layup with 22.1 seconds remaining to bring the Suns within three at 108-105, but guard Patrick Beverley made two free throws and Ariza turned a steal into a fastbreak dunk on the Suns’ nest possession.
Goodwin had 22 points for the Suns (14-37), who have lost six in a row, 12 of their last 13 and 21 of their last 23.
Houston center Dwight Howard had five points and 16 rebounds in his first game after serving a one-game suspension Tuesday for pushing the arm of official Mitchell Ervin following a tussle with Wizards’ C Nene on Jan. 30.
Reserve guard Ty Lawson had 12 points and on 4-of-6 3-pointers.
Guard Devin Booker had 17 points and forward Mirza Teletovic had 15, including the Suns’ first 10 of the fourth quarter during a 15-3 run that gave them a 95-91 lead.
Houston (27-25) lost three of the last four after a three-game winning streak.
The Suns scored 20 of the first 25 points, and Rockets interim coach J. B. Bickerstaff replaced his entire starting five when the scored reached 15-5 on Tucker’s 3-pointer after 3 1/2 minutes. Houston made three of its first 16 field goal attempts.
The Rockets played the rest of the quarter with their reserves, and the Suns finished with a 28-19 edge, their largest lead after one quarter since Dec. 18 — a span of 23 games.
Houston’s starters began the second quarter, and Harden and Ariza played the entire period. Harden was 1 of 6 from the field in the first half while being covered principally by Tucker.
NOTES: Houston F Terrence Jones missed the game after being involved in an auto accident Wednesday on the way to the Houston airport. Jones remained in a Houston hospital Thursday. “He’ll be evaluated one more day, and then they’ll make a decision on him,” Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. … F Donatas Motiejunas (back) flew in to join the Rockets for their shoot-around and team breakfast Thursday morning before being returned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of D-League later in the day, when the Rockets determined that C/F Clint Capela (hip flexor) could play Thursday. “We were worried before, because we didn’t expect Clint to play,” Bickerstaff said. “We thought we needed an extra body.” … Suns F Markieff Morris had 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots against Toronto on Tuesday, joining Memphis C Marc Gasol as the only NBA players to reach those numbers in the same game this season. … Suns G Devin Booker, one of eight chosen for the NBA 3-pointer shooting contest, was third among NBA rookies with 51 3-pointers and first with a 41.8 shooting percentage.