Phoenix @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 7, 2019 ) Phoenix 113, Houston 149

The Houston Rockets moved on from a controversy in time to earn an impressive road victory on Thursday and will try to worry only about things within their control when they host the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. The Rockets began their two-game road trip with a loss in San Antonio that is under protest but finished up with a 119-109 win at Toronto.

Houston's 135-133 loss at the Spurs included a missed dunk that wasn't and a confusing coaches challenge, but Thursday's triumph was a controversy-free display of how good the team can be. The Rockets only needed 23 points from superstar James Harden while showing off some team depth against the defending NBA champions and are getting set for two in a row at home, where they own an 8-2 record. The Suns are 5-4 on the road after holding off a late rally and earning a 139-132 overtime victory at New Orleans on the second night of a back-to-back. "We show improvement, you know," Phoenix forward Dario Saric told reporters. "It was overtime. It was back-to-back. That means we can play back-to-back games. That means we're a good team. Try to never lose two in a row. I think this is a really big win and now we have a next tough game. If we can do some great things there, it'll be a great trip for us."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Arizona (Phoenix), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)

ABOUT THE SUNS (10-11): Star guard Devin Booker scored a season-high 44 points on 13-of-24 shooting to go with nine assists and eight rebounds on Thursday and got hot in the third quarter, when Phoenix built a 16-point lead. "Third quarter is something we wanted to lock in on tonight after the past two games," Booker told reporters, referring to Wednesday's loss at Orlando and a 109-104 win at Charlotte on Monday in which Phoenix was outscored 34-21 in the third. "Coming out slow after a half. That's where I tried to pick it up." Rookie forward Cam Johnson matched his season high with 18 points on Thursday and is 8-of-14 from beyond the arc over the last two contests.

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (14-7): Guard Ben McLemore helped make up for Harden's relative lack of production on Thursday with a season-high 28 points for his fourth 20-plus effort of the campaign. The 26-year-old's streak of three straight games scoring in double figures is a season best and his career-high eight 3-pointers at Toronto marked his third consecutive game knocking down three or more from beyond the arc. Point guard Russell Westbrook recorded a triple-double in each of the last two games but is 14-of-57 from the floor in that span.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Suns SF Kelly Oubre Jr. recorded career highs of 15 rebounds and four blocks on Thursday.

2. Rockets PF PJ Tucker recorded his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday.

3. Houston owns an 11-game winning streak in the series.

PREDICTION: Rockets 116, Suns 102