Notes, Quotes

--The Rockets had not stopped the Suns starters all night. But with the game to be decided in the final minutes, they tweaked the lineup, changed the defense and slammed the door.

The Rockets went with a small lineup, playing Patrick Patterson at center and Chandler Parsons at power forward with Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic together in the backcourt. They switched screens, except for Steve Nash, instead trapping those.

In the final six minutes, the Suns made 1-of-4 shots with six turnovers, as Rockets finished with a 12-4 run.

"Our intensity rose a little bit and also our coverages changed, especially on Nash," Chase Budinger said. "We started (trapping) him, getting the ball out of his hands and switching. That forced them to make one-on-one plays and that's how we created turnovers.

"Throughout the whole game, he was coming off screens or making that pocket pass and finding people which made it easy for them. We made it tougher for them."

--The Rockets did not expect to have an All-Star selection, but they maintained hope. That ended when Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker were made the backup guards for the Western Conference.

"I thought Kyle (Lowry) had a really good chance," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "I wish he would have (made it.) It's too bad. For us, for the guys on this team to get recognized as an All-Star and get picked, the record is going to have to reflect 'hey, they merit an All-Star.' If your record doesn't reflect that, I don't care what you've done, it's hard to get on that team."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"It's extremely tough, especially when you have someone like Steve Nash out there. It's a lot of pressure. But we feel like our second unit can compete with anyone out there." -- Rockets forward Patrick Patterson, on the Rockets' bench mounting comebacks.

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