The Houston Rockets sure could have used Kevin Martin Sunday evening when they lost to the Phoenix Suns 99-86. Martin's replacement in the starting lineup has been Courtney Lee over the past four games, and prior to this one he had been averaging 18.3 points per game. However, against the Suns he was 0-8 from the field and his only two points on the night came from the free throw line.
The Rockets fell behind after a slow first quarter where they trailed by 13 points and could never recover from that deficit, but after that the Rockets played the Suns even the rest of the way. Part of the reason the Rockets fell behind was because of Michael Redd who came off the bench to go 10-of-13 and score 25 points which was a season high.
Another factor is that the Rockets made a single three-point shots compared to seven by the Suns. The Rockets have five players in double figures and the newly acquired Marcus Camby had eight points and eight rebounds, but it was not enough to beat the Suns.
For more on this game Rockets fans should check out The Dream Shake and Suns fans should visit Bright Side Of The Sun. For more news and notes from around the NBA head over to SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.
