Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET on TNT the Houston Rockets (35-16) and Phoenix Suns (29-24) will square off in a matchup of Western Conference contenders aiming to bounce back from losses. Live stream the game free by clicking this link. Rockets fans can hear the action on Sports Talk 790, while Suns fans may do likewise on 92.3 KTAR.
The Phoenix Suns are one of the NBA's most exciting teams to watch, but right now they're scuffling like some of the league's dregs. They've dropped four of their last five games, and are reeling after a fourth defeat on a buzzer beater.
"It's something we have to fix. We've lost about three games like that at the buzzer," guard Isaiah Thomas said. "I have to give it to him. He knocked it down."
Head coach Jeff Hornacek said that Phoenix's biggest issue is being too hard on themselves after losses or stretches of poor play.
"I think the biggest thing is our guys get down and they lose and they expect to win every game," Hornacek said. "The biggest challenge is to try to keep them positive and not let the expectations get to you. We're still a young team trying to grow, trying to learn."
They also may not have their leading scorer, Eric Bledsoe, for the second straight game as he waits on the birth of his child. With him gone, the Suns are not only missing his 16.7 points, 5.9 assists and 5.2 rebounds; they're missing his ability to guard the opposing team's top perimeter player.
The Rockets are still without one of their core players, center Dwight Howard. Without him James Harden has been more than capable of filling the scoring void. Sometimes Houston's defense lapses without Howard in the lineup though, as it did when they let the Portland Trailblazers shoot 52.6 percent in their most recent loss.
"We made an inordinate amount of mistakes defensively especially in that first half," coach Kevin McHale said. "It was just one of those games where we weren't really very sharp."
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