Saturday, April 12, 2008
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T-Mac, Rockets Beat Suns 101-90

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[April 12, 2008]  HOUSTON (AP) -- Tracy McGrady had 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Luis Scola added 19 points as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 101-90 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Rookie Carl Landry added 14 points and seven rebounds, and reserve guard Bobby Jackson had 13 points as the Rockets won easily, despite playing without defensive specialist Shane Battier, who sat out with a bruised left foot and ankle.

Amare Stoudemire scored 37 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 16 points for the Suns, who mustered their lowest point total since a 116-86 loss to Detroit on Feb. 24.

The Rockets moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Suns in the Western Conference standings.

Phoenix shot 46 percent (35-of-76), but committed 15 turnovers that led to 13 points for the Rockets. Houston had only five turnovers, matching a season low, and scored 19 points off 13 offensive rebounds.

Stoudemire hit nine of his first 11 shots and scored 18 points in the first 10 minutes.

The Rockets hit six of eight shots after the sluggish start and Jackson's reverse layup with 21 seconds left in the opening quarter gave Houston its first lead, 29-28.

The Rockets led 59-47 at the break after finishing the half with an 18-8 spurt. Houston outrebounded Phoenix 22-14 and scored 12 points off 11 turnovers by Phoenix in the first two quarters.

Houston pushed the lead to 16 early in the third quarter and the Suns became visibly frustrated. Dikembe Mutombo blocked Stoudemire's shot on a drive and Stoudemire gave Mutombo a retaliatory elbow. The two jawed at each other on the Suns' next possession and players from both teams separated them.

After a 2-for-9 start, McGrady scored 10 points in the third quarter as Houston stayed comfortably ahead. McGrady drew the defense, then passed to Landry for a layup that put the Rockets up 77-61 with 2:13 left. Landry was fouled by Stoudemire and added a free throw to give Houston its biggest lead.

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The Suns hit five of their first 12 shots in the final quarter, not good enough to mount a significant charge. Scola hit another short shot from the baseline to put Houston ahead 98-81 with 2:51 left and Houston coach Rick Adelman started putting in his reserves.

Houston beat Phoenix for just the third time in the last 11 meetings. The Suns had won seven of the previous eight meetings in Houston.

The Rockets have won 34 of their last 40 games and 21 of 23 home games.

Notes:@ Steve Nash had nine assists and only six points for the Suns. ... Battier snapped a streak of 221 consecutive games played. ... The Rockets unveiled a bronze monument in front of the Toyota Center honoring Hakeem Olajuwon before the game. Olajuwon had a courtside seat next to team owner Les Alexander. Recently married rap mogul Jay-Z and pop star Beyonce were sitting on the other side of Olajuwon. Jay-Z performed at the Toyota Center on Thursday night.

[Associated Press; By CHRIS DUNCAN]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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