by Paul Coro - Apr. 13, 2012 10:05 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
HOUSTON - In a game they absolutely, undeniably, desperately had to have, the Suns managed to lead for 17 seconds of the first half.
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Then they turned absolute in their resolve, undeniable on offense and desperate on defense to resuscitate their playoff hopes with a 112-105 victory Friday night against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
The Suns (31-28) pulled to within a game of Houston (32-27) for eighth place in the Western Conference and moved back into ninth place with Utah's loss at New Orleans. The Suns victory also split the season series with Houston, leaving a potential tiebreaker between the two to come down to conference records. Phoenix is 21-20 against the West, and Houston is 21-21.
"It was do or die," Suns forward Jared Dudley said. "We had to see how badly we wanted it."
The Suns didn't get too far behind in the first half until Houston took a 52-44 late in the second quarter. But Goran Dragic had picked up a third foul and exited, and the Suns cut Houston's lead to 55-51 by halftime. Houston center Marcus Camby posted 10 points, 18 rebounds and four assists in the first half, but Camby did not have another rebound after that.
Marcin Gortat nearly caught Camby, finishing with 15 rebounds and scoring 20 in a pick-and-roll frenzy. It was his fifth 20-point, 15-rebound game after he took the brunt of Gentry's halftime rage for Camby's first half.
"We were down four, not down 40," Gortat said. "We just got yelled at. We came out harder. Let's say the first half was just a warm-up. We came out prepared, and Houston relaxed a little bit."
More important, the Suns caught the Rockets quickly in the third quarter. Gortat scored eight of the Suns' first 18 third-quarter points to take the lead, and then the defense made it stand once Grant Hill entered the game as a reserve in his first game back from arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks ago.
Houston trailed 69-67 before missing nine of its final 10 shots of the third quarter. The Suns took an 81-69 lead to the fourth when Hill made a jumper for his first points and Steve Nash hit a one-footed running jumper. The lead grew to as much as 16 with 5:46 to go.
But as has been the case in many recent fourth quarters on the road, the Suns had trouble finishing off Houston. There were quirky plays, including two fouls on 3-point attempts as Houston scored 10 of its final 19 points at the free-throw line. The Rockets rallied to cut the Suns lead to five twice and had a chance to get closer, but Courtney Lee charged into Nash on one possession and missed a 3 on the next.
Dudley, who had scored 11 points in the previous three games, then hit a 3-pointer for a 108-100 lead with 36.2 seconds to go. Dudley finished with 19 points, including 3-for-5 3-point shooting. His 13 first-half points helped keep Phoenix close. Houston scored 28 points in the paint and 11 at the free-throw line in the first half.
"I have to play at that level for us to be where we're at right now," Dudley said.
After a 21-point first quarter, the Suns posted three quarters of at least 30 points to follow the same pattern as their victory Monday at Minnesota, which started this trip that ends tonight at San Antonio.
Nash finished with 18 points and 10 assists, and the bench was stellar again with 36 points.
Hill played the final 17:36 after logging eight shot-less minutes in the first half. He helped the Suns defensively.
"To be able to stay in front of them was good," Hill said. "I felt good. I was a little surprised how long I played in the second. I don't know if I played 17 straight minutes with a good knee. I'm in shape, but I didn't have game rhythm. Hopefully I'm better (today)."
View from press row
In his first game back, Grant Hill did not have a big impact early, but it was positive later when he played the game's final 17:36. He offered to come off the bench, which will help tonight when Alvin Gentry is trying to match up his time with Manu Ginobili. Hill hadn't done so since 2008, did not take a shot in his first nine minutes and did not execute with the ball late. But he moved well defensively, especially in the second half to draw a Patrick Patterson offensive foul, hustle for a close-out on a Courtney Lee 3-point attempt and rip the ball from Kyle Lowry on a breakaway.
Report
Key player
After scoring 11 points in the previous three games, Jared Dudley had 19 Friday night, including a key last-minute 3-pointer.
Key moment
The Suns closed the third quarter with a 12-2 run for an 81-69 lead as Houston shot 1 for 10 and committed a turnover.
Key number
0 Houston center Marcus Camby's second-half rebounds after getting 18 in the first half.
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