Wissenswertes » the power play in Games 1 and 2,

HOUSTON -- The Phoenix Suns did something against the Houston Rockets they had not done in their previous two games. Every time the Rockets made a run at the young Suns on Wednesday night, Phoenix responded. Eric Bledsoe had 20 points and seven assists to lead Phoenix to a 97-88 win over Houston on Wednesday night that snapped the Suns two-game losing streak. PJ Tucker added 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with six rebounds. Channing Frye had 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, and Goran Dragic chipped in 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting for the Suns, who shot 45.6 per cent from the field, including 45.8 per cent from behind the arc. "Throughout the year, we have had games where we have the lead in the fourth quarter," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We have blown some, and as a young team, that happens. You want to see the progress where that doesnt happen. They cut it down, and we could have gotten panicked where we forced shots, but we didnt." Dwight Howard had 15 points and 18 rebounds, Aaron Brooks added 17 points and six assists, and Omri Casspi had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets, who lost their second straight game. James Harden, who was guarded by Tucker, finished with 14 points, hitting 3 of 17 from the field and going 0 for 10 from behind the arc. Patrick Beverley had 12 points and eight rebounds. Houston shot 35 per cent from the floor and turned the ball over 23 times. Houston coach Kevin McHale said the Rockets did not play very well. "In the first quarter, Phoenix came up and got real aggressive with us and were denying us around the court," McHale said. "We didnt handle that very well, and then you compound that with shots not going. We had no flow tonight. . I just thought the 13 assists, 23 turnovers, some really errant passing. We gave up 25 points off our turnovers, so we just fed them." The Rockets opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run to cut the Suns lead to 75-74 on Brooks 3-pointer with 7 minutes remaining. As they did throughout the game, the Suns responded, going on a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to expand the lead to 14 on Marcus Morris 3-pointer with 3 minutes remaining. Houston tried to answer, closing within 88-82 on an 8-0 run capped by Brooks 3-pointer with 1:49 remaining. "Playing on the road against the No. 1 offensive team in the league, you know they are going to make a run," Tucker said. "Its just one of those things where you keep playing hard and keep taking those shots. We started missing some shots, but we wanted to stick with it and pushing the ball back up." Again, the Suns would have an answer as Morris connected on a 3-pointer from the corner followed by two free throws from Dragic to push the lead to 11 with 1:15 left. "We know that Houston likes to push the ball," Dragic said. "In every NBA game, we know that every team is going to have a run. If youre solid on defence and play together on offence, I think we find the right open guy at the right time, and he makes shot. Thats huge play." Houston tried once more to slice into the lead, getting it down to seven points on Beverleys 3-pointer with 57 seconds left. Houston got no closer the rest of the way. Howard said the Rockets bad offensive night had nothing to do with them missing shots, the Suns "just played harder than us." "We cant give away games like this," Howard said. "It will come back to bite us in games later this season. Weve got to learn how, no matter how many guys we have out there, short-handed and all, weve got to play the same way, play hard and play aggressive." After the Rockets got to 63-61 on Garcias 3-pointer with 2:20 left in the third, the Suns finished the quarter on a 10-0 run, capped by two free throws by Markieff Morris to take a 12-point lead into the fourth. Houston opened the second half with an 11-4 run to get within 55-51 on Beverleys 3-pointer with 6:50 remaining in the third quarter. Phoenix used a 14-3 run over a three-minute span of the second quarter to take a 47-34 lead on Tuckers 3 with 3:09 remaining in the quarter. The Suns shot 50 per cent in the first half and took a 51-40 lead into the break. Houston shot 29.8 per cent in the first half. "We just didnt have enough energy," Harden said. "We didnt make shots on the offensive end or move the basketball, and they did." NOTES: Jeremy Lin sat out with a right knee sprain. ... Houston said centre Omer Asik will miss a week with a right thigh contusion. Asik will be re-evaluated at the end of the week. . Houston forward Chandler Parsons missed his second straight game with back spasms. . Phoenix centre Alex Len missed his eighth straight game with a sore left ankle. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Sacramento Kings to their third straight preseason win, a 107-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ . "Im excited just for a new start, just to see where things are going, to bring some kind of tradition back to the team and guys being excited about something new," the defensive back said during a conference call Monday after agreeing to stay with the Bombers rather than go to free agency next month. Fake Soccer Jerseys . -- Stanley Johnson scored all 18 of his points in the second half, T. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . The Senators will put the busy off-season and training camp behind them when they open their regular season on the road. They kick things off Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and then head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday.GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Abbotsford Heat hope a last-minute goal keeps their season alive for more than one extra game. Marcus Granlund scored a power-play goal with a minute left in regulation as the Heat staved off elimination with a 2-1 win in Game 3 against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Corey Locke also scored for the Heat, who still trail 2-1 in the best-of-five series with Game 4 scheduled for Friday in Grand Rapids. "We came here and got the first one, and we need two more," Granlund said. "Were taking it day by day, and game by game, and we have to keep going. We have to keep pushing and win the next game, too." After dropping the first two games on their home ice, the Heat returned the favour by rallying in the final period for a pair of goals to erase a 1-0 deficit and earn the critical road win. "Our backs are against the wall, we realize that," Abbotsford coach Troy Ward said. "We came on the trip knowing we would play 20 minutes at a time, and the good thing about our team is were never too high or too low. "We felt good about Game 1, and obviously we stubbed our toe in Game 2, but we felt pretty good about ourselves coming in tonight." Granlunds game winner came after Grand Rapids Jeff Hoggan was whistled for high sticking with 1:20 left to put the Heat on the power play. Former Griffin Chad Billins delivered the pass to Granlund, who knocked it past Grandd Rapids goalie Petr Mrazek.dddddddddddd "It was a great pass by Billins, and I just shot it and it was a goal," Granlund said. "It was very exciting." Abbotsford went 1 for 9 on the power play in Games 1 and 2, and was 0 for 3 in Game 3 before the final goal. "Our power play has struggled so far in the series, so that was the bright eyed part of the game," Ward said. "It was a good play by Granlund, and hes been probably our catalyst all year." Grand Rapids, the defending Calder Cup champions, grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a power-play goal with 2:33 remaining in the first period when Tomas Jurco scored on a wrist shot off a pass from Riley Sheahan. Heat goalie Joni Ortio helped keep it a one-goal game with 19 stops through the first two periods and the Heat finally broke through less than six minutes into the third. Locke ripped a shot past Mrazek to tie the game before Granlunds goal at 18:58. "I thought as the game wore on, we skated better," Ward said. "I thought we had a couple really good pushes in the second there and I thought that made a difference with our confidence coming out in the third. We just picked it up after that. "This game had a lot of the same characteristics as Game 1. We got fortunate bounces at the right time and Ortio played a good game again." Ortio stopped 34 shots, while Mrazek finished with 23 saves. ' ' '