Last season, the Phoenix Suns were one Ron Artest(notes) offensive rebound away from, well, still being a game away from the NBA Finals. Still, the team gave the Lakers a good scare in the Western Conference finals, before undergoing some significant changes in the offseason.

Like, losing an all-world scoring big man who can drop 30 in his sleep. And often did.

With Amar’e Stoudemire(notes) in New York, and the second-option-by-committee thing failing miserably, the Suns fell short of the playoffs this season. Star guard Steve Nash(notes) has been hampered by personal difficulty and injuries all season, and with the regular season coming to a close next week, he decided to try out a little lottery-bound gallows humor on Twitter on Tuesday morning.

That’s the attitude, mate. Of course ol’ @Coley_Coles had to go and point out that it was ridiculous for a rabbi, a horse, and Helen Keller to be walking into a bar at the same time:

(Steve’s words, like mine, are in parenthesis.)

I think I know dry humor. On my junior kindergarten (a grade local to Chicago, I guess) report card, Mrs. Henry actually pointed out that “Kelly has a very dry sense of humor,” which is a pretty remarkable thing when you consider that there aren’t a lot of five-year olds out there that remind of Dick Cavett. So of course it’s nice to see Steve bringing the ha-ha even if his season hasn’t been a barrel of laughs. I mean that. Seriously. I’m a little dry, but it’s not a joke.

(By the way, the rabbi says, “I said Midori stone SOUR!” It’s a really good joke.)

Related: Amar’e Stoudemire, Ron Artest, Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns

By Seth Pollack – Regional Sports Editor

Read More: Steve Nash (G – PHO), Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs

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Apr 3, 2011 - I am sure when the whiz kids at the league, or ABC, or where ever, decided to put the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs on national TV on a Sunday morning just a few weeks before the end of the season they were thinking this game would have big meaning. They must have assumed that since the Suns made it to the Western Conference Finals and that the two teams had so much recent playoff history that the game was bound to be good.

Well, the game still might be good but it holds no meaning for the Suns. Phoenix is just a hair’s breadth from being technically eliminated from the playoffs. One more loss and they are done. One more win by the New Orleans Hornets are they are done. Basically, they are done but just haven’t got the message yet.

The Spurs, however, desperately need a win. They’ve lost six-straight games and their strangle hold on the Western Conference top seed is very much in jeopardy. They are just one 1/2 games ahead of the Lakers for home court advantage with the Bull closing in on the best record in the NBA.

The Suns will make things a bit easier for San Antonio to get back on track having left Steve Nash at home due to flu-like symptoms. Nash is expected to join the team in Chicago on Tuesday for the second game of this final five-game road trip of season. Aaron Brooks and Zabian Dowdell will once again split time running the point.

The game tips at 10:00 a.m. local time on ABC and will be broadcast on Sports 620 radio. Fans can follow along during the game with other Suns fans at the live game thread at Bright Side of the Sun.     

The Phoenix Suns needed to finish strong to make the playoffs, but they’ve done anything but as the season winds down – due very much to their inability to finish strong in the fourth quarter.

Phoenix, loser of four in a row, could find itself eliminated from postseason contention by the end of Friday night as it faces the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Suns (36-38) would miss the playoffs if they are unable to beat the Clippers and eighth-place Memphis wins at New Orleans. Phoenix, 10th in the Western Conference, could at best finish tied with the Grizzlies under that scenario, and Memphis took the season series 2-1.

The Suns would also be eliminated if they end up in a tie with Houston and Utah as well as Memphis, based on winning percentage in all games among the tied teams.

Phoenix’s poorly timed losing streak has been due in large part to the club’s struggles in the fourth quarter. The Suns have been outscored by an average of 11.0 points in the final period of the last four games.

On Wednesday, they were outscored 37-25 in the final 12 minutes of a 116-98 home loss to Oklahoma City.

“We just can’t seem to put any offense together to start the fourth quarter,” coach Alvin Gentry said. “That’s where most of the teams seem to be getting separation between us.”

The Suns, who open a five-game trip Sunday against NBA-leading San Antonio and face East-leading Chicago on Tuesday, last dropped five in a row during a six-game slide March 3-12, 2009.

Phoenix, though, has won 21 of the last 27 meetings with Los Angeles. The Suns defeated the Clippers 116-108 on Nov. 26 in the lone matchup at Phoenix this season, and have won the last seven home game in the series by an average of 17.9 points.

Los Angeles (29-46) will miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. It’s 2-19 on the road versus Western Conference teams, with the victories coming against woeful Sacramento and Minnesota.

“I’m trying to see who wants to compete, get coached and be developed,” coach Vinny Del Negro said following a 106-100 home loss to Dallas on Wednesday. “I’m trying to see what type of nucleus we have with our core guys and trying to continue to develop our young players.”

Blake Griffin(notes) is certainly part of that nucleus. The forward posted his 57th double-double Wednesday with 25 points and 17 rebounds and set the franchise’s single-season rookie record with 1,682 points.

Griffin, averaging 21.7 points and team-high 9.3 boards against Phoenix this season, had 28 and 12 as the Clippers snapped a nine-game skid to Phoenix with a 108-103 victory Dec. 26.

Suns point guard Steve Nash(notes), who had 21 points and 15 assists in that game, is averaging team highs of 20.0 points, 12.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds against Los Angeles this season.

Matched up against Clippers newcomer Mo Williams(notes), Nash scored 23 points with 13 assists and seven rebounds in a 108-99 victory March 20.

Williams had 18 points, seven assists and seven boards in that contest and is averaging 17.1 points since being acquired by Cleveland in February.

The Clippers have played better of late, going 8-6 since a 2-12 stretch.

PHOENIX (AP) — Carl Landry, starting in place of injured David West, scored 19 points and the New Orleans Hornets pulled out a 106-100 victory over Phoenix on Friday night, sinking the Suns further out of the Western Conference playoff race.

The Hornets, who lost leading scorer West for the season with a knee injury in a victory at Utah on Thursday night, won for the fifth time in six games to stay in a virtual tie with Portland for the No. 6 spot in the West.

Chris Paul led five Hornets in double figures with 22 points. Jarrett Jack added 17, Trevor Ariza 16 and Willie Green 15.

Marcin Gortat had 18 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes before leaving the game with a broken nose with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Grant Hill also scored 18, while Jared Dudley and Aaron Brooks added 17 apiece.

(Sports Network) – A pair of postseason hopefuls get together tonight in the desert, as the Phoenix Suns play host to the New Orleans Hornets.

The Hornets are currently seventh in the Western Conference — a half-game behind Portland and a full game ahead of Memphis — and opened a three-game trip with last night’s 121-117 overtime win against Utah. David West netted 29 points before exiting the game with an apparent knee injury and Chris Paul delivered 24 points and 12 assists for New Orleans, which won for the sixth time in nine tries.

Emeka Okafor tied the game in regulation on a desperation shot and tallied 12 points and six boards in a winning effort.

“[I saw] all there was time for was touch and go. I just looked at the rim, just to get an idea of where I’m at and let it go,” Okafor said of the dramatic basket.

New Orleans will also visit the Los Angeles Lakers and is 17-20 away from the Big Easy this season. West, meanwhile, is questionable for tonight’s game.

Phoenix will continue a three-game homestand Friday and kicked off the residency with Wednesday’s 114-106 triumph over the Toronto Raptors.

Aaron Brooks came off the bench to score 25 points to help the Suns battle back from a 13-point deficit in the second half. Steve Nash had 16 points and Channing Frye added 14 for the Suns, who are three games behind the Grizzlies for the final postseason spot in the Western Conference.

“I thought it was our best win of the year,” said Suns head coach Alvin Gentry. “That was a total team effort.”

Marcin Gortat added 15 points and a team-high eight boards while Jared Dudley scored 13 points in a winning effort. Gortat has scored in double figures in a career-high 16-straight games.

Gentry’s club will also visit Dallas and is 20-15 at US Airways Center. It has won 12 of the past 18 games as the host. In injury news for Phoenix, guard Grant Hill (flu) and forward Mickael Pietrus (knee/quadriceps) are both questionable for this evening’s game.

The 2010-11 season series between New Orleans and Phoenix is tied at a game apiece, with each team prevailing as the host. The Hornets have lost three straight and six of nine games in the Valley of the Sun.

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Victoria’s Steve Nash (13) drives for a layup against Raptors rookie Ed Davis in a 110-92 Suns win at Toronto on Feb. 25. (Ron Turenne/Getty Images)

One night after just missing a chance to move closer to a playoff position, the Phoenix Suns appear to have an easier opportunity for a win.

The Suns will try again to cut into their deficit in the Western Conference race and seek to bounce back from an agonizingly narrow defeat by posting their 14th consecutive win against the visiting Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

A season high-tying four straight losses dropped Phoenix as low as 11th in the West last week. The Suns responded with consecutive wins and nearly claimed a third in a row Tuesday at the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Lakers.

The Suns (35-34) rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes of regulation at Staples Center, then played three overtimes only to fall 139-137.

“We have resolve,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “We play hard and we compete like crazy.

“We were playing a helluva basketball team [Lakers]. A team that’s playing better than anybody in the league right now.

“They’re 13-1 since the all-star break. We had a chance to do something special and we didn’t quite get it done so, obviously, it hurts.”

In his third game back from a dislocated right shoulder, Channing Frye scored a career-best 32 points and hit three free throws to force the second overtime. Victoria’s Steve Nash recorded a season-high 20 assists and Marcin Gortat added 24 points and 16 rebounds.

The loss prevented Phoenix from moving a percentage point ahead of Houston for ninth place in the conference. The Suns are instead tied with Utah for 10th and three games back of eighth-place Memphis as they try to reach their sixth post-season in seven years.

Facing the lowly Raptors might help their cause. Toronto has dropped 15 of 16 on the road, 26 of 33 overall and the last 13 meetings in this series.

The Raptors (20-50), though, recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since December in Sunday’s opener of a five-game trip. They edged Oklahoma City 95-93 on Amir Johnson’s layup with 1.4 seconds left, ending a franchise-record string of 14 consecutive road losses.

Toronto fell flat the following night, losing 123-90 in Denver. Andrea Bargnani finished with 20 points, but was the only Raptor with more than 15.

“If you are a step slow in this league, and whether it’s inexperience or fatigue from travel or playing in a back-to-back, you get exposed,” Raptors head coach Jay Triano said. “We did [Monday].”

The loss clinched the Raptors’ first 50-loss campaign since they finished 27-55 in 2005-06. It’s been even longer since they last beat Phoenix, 101-94 on the road Feb. 10, 2004.

That drought nearly came to an end when Toronto visited last season, as the Suns needed Nash’s three-point play with 38 seconds left to prevail 101-100.

Phoenix won 110-92 in Toronto on Feb. 25 despite getting only seven points from Nash, who shot 2 of 12. Former Raptor Vince Carter and Gortat each had 17 points.

Bargnani had his best performance in eight career matchups with the Suns in that game, scoring 26 points while making 12 of 15 shots.

The Los Angeles Lakers will play a second straight game without Andrew Bynum(notes) when they host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

Based on Los Angeles’ performance in the first game of his suspension, Bynum’s absence might not matter as it goes for a fifth straight win.

The Lakers (50-20) improved to 12-1 since the All-Star break with an 84-80 win over Portland on Sunday. Kobe Bryant(notes) scored 22 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and Lamar Odom(notes) had 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists starting in place of Bynum.

Before the game, Los Angeles learned that Bynum, averaging 11.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, received a two-game suspension after being charged with a flagrant foul that led to his ejection in a 106-98 win over Minnesota on Friday.

Bynum’s absence was missed on the glass, where the Lakers were outrebounded 45-35, but Los Angeles tightened its defense, holding the Trail Blazers to 32.4 percent shooting in the second half and 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“In the first three quarters they were beating us to the loose balls, they were going on the offensive glass and tipping it back out and getting multiple shot opportunities. Those things are going to happen when you miss your big guy in the middle,” point guard Derek Fisher(notes) said. “I think in the fourth quarter we stood it up and played the type of defense we needed to play.”

Fisher had back-to-back crucial plays in the final period, picking up a steal with two minutes left and giving the Lakers a 78-76 lead on a driving layup.

“D-Fish came through,” Odom said. “We could have easily lost this game, but I thought we got better. We made some steps as a team. We showed we can win these games, but we don’t need to put ourselves in that position.”

Los Angeles hasn’t given up 100 points in a regulation game since the break and its last 10 opponents have averaged 86.7.

The Lakers are looking to win their seventh straight at home Tuesday against a Suns team that handed them one of their eight losses at Staples Center, 121-116 on Nov. 14. Los Angeles won the other two meetings in Phoenix.

While Los Angeles has clinched the Pacific Division and has a one-game lead over Dallas for the second seed in the Western Conference, Phoenix (35-33) is hoping to just reach the postseason.

The Suns have won their last two following a four-game losing streak, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 108-99 at Staples Center on Sunday after shooting 10 for 22 from 3-point range.

Steve Nash(notes) had 23 points and 13 assists, while Channing Frye(notes) went 5 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 19 points.

Frye, playing in his second game after sitting out the previous five with a dislocated shoulder, hit two 3-pointers in the final minutes. He had 17 points and nine rebounds two nights earlier in his return, a 108-97 win over Golden State.

Phoenix is among a handful of clubs vying for one of the final playoff spots in the West.

“The good thing is, we have a lot more games to play than some of the teams ahead of us,” forward Grant Hill(notes) said. “Crazier things have happened.”

(Sports Network) – The Phoenix Suns will begin a tour through Los Angeles this afternoon, starting with a showdown against the Clippers at Staples Center.

The Suns will also take on the two-time defending champion Lakers and are 15-18 away from the desert. They have dropped three in a row as the guest, but ended a four-game losing streak with Friday’s 108-97 victory versus the Golden State Warriors at US Airways Center.

Marcin Gortat had 18 points and Steve Nash finished with 17 points and 10 assists for Phoenix, which is 2 1/2 games off the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference. Grant Hill and Channing Frye scored 17 points apiece in a winning effort. Frye returned from a five-game absence because of a dislocated shoulder.

“Finally, we started to play better defense and were more aggressive offensively,” Gortat said. “Still, we have to learn how to close games. Golden State is a really dangerous team. They know how to come back. I’m just glad we won this game.”

The Clippers will resume a four-game homestand today and ended a two-game slide with Saturday’s 100-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Blake Griffin had a busy night with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while Eric Gordon returned to the lineup after missing the previous six games with a right wrist injury, scoring 29 points.

“Everybody was playing as a team today,” Griffin said. “When Eric Gordon plays he really opens up the court. This was definitely a game we wanted to get.”

Craig Smith added 12 points in a reserve role and Mo Williams contributed 11 points in a winning effort. The Clippers will also host Washington on the residency and are 19-16 at home this season.

LA has won six of its last nine contests overall.

The Suns and Clippers have split a pair of meetings this season, with each team winning as the host. Phoenix has won 12 of the last 14 matchups between the teams and is 13-5 in the past 18 encounters as the guest.

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The Suns are tied with last-place Sacramento for the fewest amount of games played in the Western Conference.

That is fortuitous, now that they are sitting outside the NBA playoffs club because the bouncer does not deem them worthy yet.

The Suns probably need to pile up wins like they never have this season. That makes having more games to play than any other team in the playoff race a good thing, especially when they have to pass three teams to get in the postseason door. Phoenix’s best run this season was an 11-3 stretch.

There is a strong chance that 11-4, which would put the Suns at 45-37, would not be good enough, but they can at least look at Friday night’s win against Golden State and feel as if they resemble that type of team. With forward Channing Frye back in the lineup and point guard Steve Nash back to form, their hopes at getting hot down the stretch gained traction.

“We had played good basketball when Steve was healthy,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “It wasn’t until he started to struggle physically. Obviously, when Channing got hurt, that’s when we started to struggle as a team. With both of those guys healthy, we had played good basketball.”

The Suns have a rare two-game, one-city trip with Staples Center visits Sunday to play the Clippers and Tuesday night to play the Lakers before returning home Wednesday to face Toronto.

“If everybody’s going to stay healthy, if we’re going to keep competing, then we can really make waves,” Suns center Marcin Gortat said.

So much of that rests on how Nash can finish this season with a pubic-symphysis injury. It won’t heal in that time, but Nash believes it is manageable.

“I felt a little better,” Nash said of Friday night’s win. “I didn’t feel great, actually, but I’m way better. It was basically about the same I felt in New Orleans.”

Nash scored the most points (17) and made the most 3-pointers (three) that he has in a game since the All-Star break. Nash’s movements were so limited in recent weeks that he could not drive as quick, cut as sharp or shoot as strong.

“I haven’t been able to get the ball to the basket from (3-point distance),” Nash said. “It’s been really hard on me. It’s the one thing where I just can’t get it there. I’ve been working at it, and (Friday night) was better in that respect.”

Gentry said Nash is his best option even with one healthy leg. That is because the backup-point-guard position has not been shored up as well as it was supposed to be when the Suns trade Goran Dragic and a first-round pick to get Aaron Brooks. He shot 1 for 4 from the field in 11 minutes before getting pulled after stepping out of bounds and getting a technical foul with 7:46 to go in Friday’s game. Brooks said he still is “not totally confident” moving on the left ankle he sprained in November.

“I’m not playing well,” Brooks said. “I’m just not moving right. My body’s not loose. I’m all right. I’ll get better next game.”

In coming back from a dislocated right shoulder, Frye showed little hesitation Friday after one contact practice. He made five of 12 shots, including three of six 3s, and grabbed nine rebounds.

“When I’m out there, I don’t even think about anything other than what I have to do for the team,” Frye said. “I’m not going to babysit any injury regardless. If I’m out there, there are no excuses.”

With 16 games remaining in the regular season, the Suns, who have lost four games in a row, face an uphill battle for a playoff spot. The final stretch, Steve Nash says, will be challenging.

The margin for error is slim, and he knows the team is “in a really tough spot.”

“We’ve got to win most of these games to have a shot at the playoffs,” he said. “So we’ve got to play hard every night and see what we can come up with.

“There’s going to be a lot of factors – guys are going to get demoralized, they’ll start to splinter or start to give up, and we can’t let that happen. We’ve got to be professional, we got to take pride in what we’re doing and fight for each other and see how many of these games we can win.”

The Suns, 11th in the Western Conference, will try to get above the .500 mark Friday against Golden State, a team they have defeated three times this season. Nash, who returned Wednesday night after missing two games because of a lower-abdominal injury, said health issues and other factors are making things difficult, but the team has to stay positive.

“Everyone’s got to fight now every day mentally to be tough and come out (Friday) and really be excited that we have an opportunity to win a basketball game and not worry about how many we’ve got to win, just come out and play hard and see what happens,” he said.

Nash said he felt a little sore after Thursday’s practice, citing tired legs because of the work he put in to get back on the court.

“But I can’t complain about the way I felt,” he said. “I felt pretty good, and I feel pretty good today, so hopefully it’s behind me, and hopefully I can just get better and better.”

Frye could return

Channing Frye practiced Thursday for the first time since dislocating his shoulder March 6 and said he felt no ill effects. He said it was 50-50 that he would play Friday.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now,” he said. “I guess it’s probably going to be a game-time decision, and see how it feels (Friday). I got in there and banged around a little bit, got a little sweat. . . . I just want to make sure I’m going out there and not being passive.”

Nation’s honor

Center Marcin Gortat will be honored by his homeland before Friday’s game.

Gortat, a native of Lodz, Poland, is being recognized for his contributions on and off the court in representing the best of Poland, specifically for his work in promoting youth basketball camps since 2008.

The award will be presented at center court by Robert Kupiecki, Poland’s ambassador to the United States.

Warriors at Phoenix

Tipoff: 7 p.m., US Airways Center

TV/Radio: CSNBA; 680-AM

Records: Warriors 30-38; Suns 33-33

Phoenix update: The Suns are struggling with a four-game losing streak and have lost six of their past eight. Phoenix is 21/2 games back of Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. “… Sharpshooting big man Channing Frye is hoping to return Friday against the Warriors. Frye has missed five games since separating his right shoulder on March 7. He was expected to be out at least two weeks. In his last two games against the Warriors, Frye totaled 36 points and 20 rebounds, knocking down nine 3-pointers. “… Suns forward Grant Hill is averaging 16 points on 58.6 percent shooting in three games against the Warriors this season — both higher than his season averages. But where he hurts the Warriors most is with his defense. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Hill has defended the Warriors’ 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard Monta Ellis effectively. That explains why Ellis — averaging 24.8 points on 45.3 percent shooting this season — has scored just 29 points on 9-for-30 shooting the past two games against the Suns.

– Marcus Thompson II

While the New Orleans Hornets are trying to get closer to earning a playoff berth with their star point guard back in the lineup, the Phoenix Suns’ postseason hopes have been fading without theirs.

Chris Paul(notes) and the Hornets look to rebound from one of their worst defensive efforts of the season Wednesday night when they host a Suns team that has struggled to score without Steve Nash(notes) in action.

Since missing two games while recovering from a mild concussion, Paul is averaging 30.0 points, 12.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 steals in two contests.

He’s a big reason New Orleans (39-30) is sixth in the Western Conference, 1 1/2 games clear of Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot and four ahead of 10th-place Phoenix (33-32).

The Hornets dropped two games behind fifth-place Denver on Monday, losing 114-103 to the Nuggets despite Paul finishing with 27 points, 10 assists and a season high-tying seven steals.

New Orleans, allowing a conference-low 93.0 points per game, gave up a season-high 17 3-pointers and fell to 1-13 when yielding 10 or more.

“When you see that ball go through the hole 17 times from the 3, it tends to mess with your psyche a little bit,” coach Monty Williams said. “It was just one of those games that you have in the NBA where a team comes out and they just shoot the ball better than you’ve ever seen them before. … Our guys fought tonight. We just didn’t have enough to overcome that many 3s.”

That might not be a major concern Wednesday if Nash isn’t distributing the ball, and especially considering Phoenix has shot just 26.9 percent (14 of 52) from 3-point range during its three-game losing streak.

Nash has missed the last two with what is officially being listed as “pelvic instability,” but said he should be ready to go Wednesday. However, if the two-time MVP sits again, backup point guard Aaron Brooks(notes) will have to deliver a better performance than he did in Monday’s 95-93 loss to Houston.

Returning to the Toyota Center for the first time since the Suns acquired him from the Rockets in a deadline deal, Brooks missed eight of nine shots and finished with two points and three assists as Phoenix fell to 0-4 this season without Nash.

“I’m glad the Houston game is over,” Brooks said. “I had a bad game and now I’ll move on.”

The Suns, among the league leaders with 104.9 points per game, are averaging 92.7 during their skid while shooting 41.9 percent from the field.

Phoenix last dropped four straight during a season-worst 0-4 stretch from Dec. 20-29.

The Suns, though, have won three in a row over New Orleans, including a 104-102 home victory Jan. 30 in the only meeting this season. Phoenix nearly blew an eight-point lead in the final 18 seconds, as Paul’s 3-pointer at the buzzer missed the rim. He finished with team highs of 26 points and 12 assists.

Nash had 15 assists in that matchup while backup center Marcin Gortat(notes) had a career-best 25 points with 11 boards.

Beginning Wednesday, the Hornets and Suns play three times in 24 days.

HOUSTON – The past three games have been like the Suns’ entire season.

If they started to play better sooner, they would not have to work so hard to catch up.

The Suns lost a game without ever leading for the third consecutive time Monday night, losing 95-93 to Houston despite a furious comeback led by unlikely suspects Josh Childress and Zabian Dowdell that ended with Jared Dudley missing an open 3-pointer for the win before time expired at Toyota Center.

Photos from the game | Box score

Phoenix’s comeback hopes in the Western Conference playoff race could prove as futile if the Suns don’t get a quick turnaround now that they have fallen back into 10th place half a game behind Utah and 2 1/2 games behind eighth-place Memphis.

The Suns fell to 0-4 without their best player, Steve Nash, and 1-3 without their floor-spacing big man, Channing Frye, and the offense continued to struggle without them, failing to score 100 points in consecutive games for the first time since consecutive January losses at Detroit and Philadelphia.

“It’s unfortunate because we battled back,” said Dudley, whose opportunity for the win came because Houston missed 4 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds. “It was set up perfect for us to steal at the end of the game.”

The Suns are most vulnerable – ending long home winning streaks against Denver on Thursday and Orlando on Sunday and then halting a seven-game win streak against Houston, which is within half a game of the Suns. Chuck Hayes has been added to the list of players who have had career-high scoring nights against the Suns with his 21-point game Monday.

The Suns had their worst scoring quarter Sunday since opening night and then had their worst scoring first quarter Monday night since Nash was out in November. Aaron Brooks struggled in his second Suns start, spoiling his Houston homecoming with 1-for-9 shooting and as many turnovers (three) as assists (three) before Suns coach Alvin Gentry turned to third-stringer Dowdell to rally Phoenix.

Dowdell and Childress have spent most games sitting together at the end of the bench but they were the main reasons the Suns erased the 10-point lead Houston had to start the fourth quarter. Childress and Dowdell each hit their first 3-pointers of the season with Dowdell’s 3 giving the game its first tie with 2:02 to play and Childress slamming back a Vince Carter miss to tie it again with 1:21 to go. But after Grant Hill and Carter misses, the Suns relied on Houston’s missed free throws to get to the point where Dudley missed the 3 when the Suns were out of timeouts.

“We laid it on the line,” Childress said. “We really tried to pick the tempo up. We gave ourselves a chance but we shouldn’t have got into the hole we got into.”

Nash is expecting to play Wednesday at New Orleans and Frye might not be too far behind, considering he took 100 mid-range shots before Monday’s game.

“I’m feeling not too bad,” Frye said. “It’s a little sore after so we’re still getting there.”

Report

Key player

Houston center Chuck Hayes had a career-high 21 points.

Key moment

After Houston missed 4 of 6 free throws, Suns forward Jared Dudley missed a 3-pointer for the win.

Key number

3: Consecutive games the Suns have lost without ever holding a lead.

View from press row

The Rockets showed a video tribute to Aaron Brooks during a first-quarter break. His Houston stay ended roughly, with his discontent over playing time coming to a head when he was suspended for leaving the court during a game, but he was recognized for 3 1/2 seasons and some star play. Goran Dragic’s briefer, less impactful Suns run did not warrant such a tribute, but Amar’e Stoudemire’s and Shawn Marion’s Suns careers sure did, and they did not get that acknowledgement in their returns.

By Seth Pollack – Regional Sports Editor

Read More: Steve Nash (G – PHO), Aaron Brooks (G – PHO), Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets

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Mar 14, 2011 - Not only will Aaron Brooks get a chance to improve on his horrible game when the Phoenix Suns played the Houston Rockets last week, but chance are he will be the starting point guard. Steve Nash is officially doubtful for tonight’s game as he continues to rehab his pelvic instability injury. Brooks will be facing his old team, the one that didn’t want to give him an extension, for the second time as a member of the Suns. In the first meeting Brooks record no points and two turnovers in 12 minutes of play.

The Rockets (33-34) are in a virtual tie with the Suns (33-31) for the ninth seed in the Western Conference playoff race. A win is vital for both teams tonight who are hot on the heels of the 36-31 Memphis Grizzlies who cling to the final spot with roughly 15 games remaining. 

The Suns are coming off two blowout home losses to the Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic while Houston  is also coming off a loss Saturday to the San Antonio Spurs. The Rockets list forward Luis Scola as questionable for tonight’s game (knee). 

The game tips at 5:30 p.m. local time on My45 and will be broadcast on Sports 620 radio. Fans can follow along during the game with other Suns fans at the live game thread at Bright Side of the Sun.