To the disappointment of many Suns fans, both Vince Carter and Hakim Warrick have struggled over the past couple of months despite Phoenix’s improved play in getting back into the playoff picture. That wasn’t the case on Tuesday night.
Behind 32 points from both Carter and Warrick respectively, the Suns held on to defeat the Houston Rockets, 113-110. Carter more than made up for his two missed free throws that he had the other night when Phoenix had the chance to retake the lead from Oklahoma City in overtime. Warrick set a career high in scoring in replacing Channing Frye in the starting lineup. He also had eight rebounds and four assists.
Carter, Warrick and Grant Hill, who chipped in with 19 points, had to make up for the poor play out of the remaining two starters and most of the bench, which has carried the Suns recently. Robin Lopez had no rebounds in 12 minutes and Phoenix only got two points out of Jared Dudley, Mickael Pietrus, Aaron Brooks and Josh Childress. Marcin Gortat was one of the lone bright spots off the bench with his 13 points and 16 rebounds, but he even struggled shooting from the field going 6-of-15.
Kyle Lowry gave the Suns problems all night long. He tied Carter and Warrick with a game-high 32 points. He was 11-of-18 from the field and made seven three’s on the night. His play meant that Goran Dragic saw limited action in his first game back to Phoenix. In only 12 minutes, the former Sun had six points and three assists. Kevin Martin had 17 points and Chase Budinger chipped in with 13. Promisng rookie Patrick Patterson had 18 points and five boards off the bench. Houston just didn’t have enough down the stretch to pull out the win on the road though.
After their much needed victory over Houston, the Suns will face the Denver Nuggets for the first time since they traded Carmelo Anthony. The game was scheduled to be on TNT, but they dropped the broadcast. That is probably good news with the Suns recent history in nationally televised games. The ball will still tip at 8:30.
Original Story:
http://www.sunszoo.com/2011/03/vince-...
