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Rockets, Suns tangle in Houston

Dec 6, 2014 - 3:22 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns will both carry winning streaks into Saturday's intriguing Western Conference matchup at the Toyota Center.

The Rockets have won three in a row, and six of their last seven, while the Suns are victors in two straight.

Houston has toppled the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves during their run. Two of those wins came on the road, including Friday night's thriller at the Target Center.

James Harden fouling out late in regulation opened the door for an unlikely hero.

Seldom-used rookie Nick Johnson muscled past fellow rookie Zach LaVine and got a layup to go with 0.8 seconds left in the Rockets' 114-112 overtime win over the Wolves.

Harden scored 38 points on 17 shots in 36 1/2 minutes before picking up his sixth foul with 1:20 remaining in regulation. On the ensuing Minnesota possession, Andrew Wiggins had a putback dunk to give the Wolves a 105-101 lead.

Donatas Motiejunas scored the final four points in regulation with a righty hook and a pair of free throws to force OT.

It was tied at 112 late in the extra session when Jason Terry, who scored 19 points, drove and dished to a cutting Johnson. The first-year pro out of Arizona had missed his previous four shots before bullying his way to the basket for the game-winner.

"It's tough to foul out, but the way those guys responded was tremendous," said Harden. "(Motiejunas) had some big buckets, (Terry), Nick making the game winner."

The Rockets are 6-2 since Dwight Howard went down with a knee injury. He is expected to miss Saturday's contest.

The Suns collected a gigantic win on Friday, a road triumph over the Dallas Mavericks, 118-106. That victory halted a five-game winning streak for the Mavs.

"It's a really important win for us. Especially after having a good last game at home against Indiana, so we tried to win another one," said guard Goran Dragic. "We know that Dallas is a great team, one of the best defensively in the NBA. I think our key tonight was that we jumped on them early."

The Suns scored 40 in the first quarter on 69.6 percent field-goal shooting. Dragic and Eric Bledsoe each had 10 points over the first 12 minutes.

Dragic had 28 points and 13 assists in the win, while Bledsoe tallied 19 points and seven assists.

Markieff Morris added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns. Gerald Green chipped in 15 off the bench and Marcus Morris finished with 11. P.J. Tucker contributed 10.

The Suns will visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday to close out this trek.

The Rockets took two of three from the Suns last season and have won five of their last seven at home in this series.