cut the deficit to 48-44. Arizona endured a short cold spell after a layup from McConnell

PHOENIX - Patrick Beverley sank the go-ahead 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds to play and the Houston Rockets escaped with 115-112 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night. Dwight Howard scored 25, James Harden 23 and Beverley 20 for the Rockets, who trailed by 10 entering the fourth quarter. Goran Dragic scored a career-high 35 for the Suns, but missed what would have been the game-tying 3 at the buzzer. Gerald Green added 23, 18 in the third quarter, and Markieff Morris 21 for Phoenix. Beverley, who scored 12 in the fourth, made two free throws that boosted Houstons lead to 113-110 with 20 seconds to go before Dragic scored on a layup to cut it to 113-112 with 14.7 seconds to play. Donatas Motiejunas sank two free throws with 14.1 seconds left to put Houston up 115-112. Phoenixs last lead was 110-108 on Morris driving layup with 47.3 seconds remaining. The Rockets scored four points in one possession when Marcus Morris was called for a questionable clear-path foul against Chandler Parsons with 6:16 to play. Parsons made both free throws, then Harden sank a 19-footer to cut the Suns lead to 98-96 with 5:54 to play. Houston tied the game three times before Beverleys big shot put Houston up for good. The Rockets dominated inside with a 64-42 advantage in points in the paint. Dragic made 10 shots in a row, half of them 3s, from the first quarter until he missed a long 3 midway through the third. He had 19 points on 7-for-7 shooting in the second quarter to help Phoenix erase Houstons 17-point lead, but Howard returned to the game and the Rockets were up 60-56 at the break. Phoenix used a 12-1 run to go up 77-70 on P.J. Tuckers steal and breakaway dunk with 5:16 left in the third quarter. Chandler Parsons rebound basket cut it to 88-83 with 35 seconds left in the quarter, but Miles Plumlee scored on a rebound, then Green banked in a 28-footer just before the buzzer to put the Suns up 93-83 entering the fourth. Early on, it was all Rockets. Omer Asiks three-point play gave Houston its biggest lead 37-19 with 9:55 left in the half. The Suns outscored the Rockets 26-8 over the next six minutes, consecutive 3s by Dragic giving Phoenix a 48-45 lead with 3:32 left in the half. But Howard came back from a brief rest and scored the first five in an 11-0 spurt that put the Rockets up 56-48 with 1:57 to play in the half. Dragic, though, sank two more 3s to help cut the lead to six at halftime. Dragic scored 25 in the first half on 10-of-12 shooting. He missed his first 3-pointer, then made the other five in the first half. Howard had 18 points and seven rebounds in the half. NOTES: Dragic has seven games of at least 30 points this season. ... Howard had 34 points and 14 rebounds in the Rockets 122-108 win over Phoenix on Feb. 5. ... Phoenixs 40 points was the most for a Rockets opponent in the second quarter this season and matched the most by the Suns. ... Houston won the season series 2-1. ... The Suns were without Leandro Barbosa for the second game in a row with a sprained toe. ... Ex-Sun and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson appeared at halftime to commemorate his baseline dunk over Houstons Hakeem Olajuwon 20 years ago. Cheap Dave Parker Jersey . Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said his team will include 9th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki as he decided to let the top-ranked Djokovic rest. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Terrance Broadway threw for 227 yards and Hunter Stover kicked three field goals as the Ragin Cajuns won an unprecedented fourth straight New Orleans Bowl with a 16-3 triumph over Nevada. http://www.cheappiratesjerseys.com/.com) - NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Buffalo Bills. Wholesale Pirates Jerseys . Nine-year veteran Danny Granger did not make his debut with the Clippers because of a technicality on the teams active list, which is signed by coach Doc Rivers before every game and relayed to the officials. Grangers name was printed by hand by a member of the public relations staff under the heading: "Updated Roster Additions," but the number on the sheet was not circled along with the other active players by the required deadline of 6:30 p. Cheap MLB Jerseys . -- Jesse Lussier scored 8:24 into overtime as the Halifax Mooseheads erased a four-goal deficit to beat the host Val-dOr Foreurs 6-5 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. SALT LAKE CITY -- Strong defence has saved Arizona in several games this season. It was no different against a determined underdog in a tough environment on the road. Gabe York and Nick Johnson each scored 15 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 13 and the fourth-ranked Wildcats escaped with a 67-63 overtime victory against Utah on Wednesday night. Arizona held the Utes to one field goal over the final 5 minutes and forced a critical turnover in the closing seconds. "We just had to buckle down," Johnson said. "We had to buckle down on defence. We had to rebound. They were really getting us on the offensive rebounds." The score was tied at 58 before Hollis-Jefferson made two baskets to give the Wildcats a four-point lead with 1:52 left in overtime. His first bucket came after he snagged an offensive rebound. The second one came after Brandon Taylor, an 86 per cent free throw shooter, missed three straight from the line to prevent Utah from taking the lead. "Rondae had some offensive rebounds and some plays that he made that were great," Johnson said. "If we didnt have him, we wouldnt have won." Delon Wright made a pair of free throws to cut it to 62-60, but threw the ball away with 33.9 seconds left. Johnson and T.J. McConnell each made free throws to help secure the victory. The Wildcats (24-2, 11-2 Pac-12) beat Utah for the ninth straight time since a loss to the Utes in the 1998 NCAA tournament. Arizona also held onto sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, one game ahead of UCLA. Taylor had 13 points and Wright and Dallin Bachynski each scored 12 for the Utes (17-9, 6-8), who lost at home for the second time this season. Utah last beat Arizona at home in 1985. The Utes fell short despite outrebounding the Wildcats 37-31 and finishing with a 34-23 edge in the paint. "It was a classic game and one of the things I was most proud of is the fact that we came back," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We built that deficit against a really good basketball team and (then) put a little different lineup on the floor and went small. I thought some of our young kids gave us a great lift and we got more aggressive. We got to the free throw line." Arizona started strong, makking its first four field goal attempts and taking a 9-8 lead.dddddddddddd Utah kept pace by hitting seven of its first 10 shots from the field. Princeton Onwas stole the ball from Hollis-Jefferson and dunked it on the other end to cap a 6-0 spurt. Arizona went on a 14-0 run later in the half. York capped the surge by hitting a 3-pointer and then taking his own steal from Taylor in for a layup, giving the Wildcats a 25-16 lead. "Thats what he can do," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "He made some timely shots. One of the big reasons we went in the half with a lead was because of his offence." Utah briefly trimmed the deficit to five after baskets from Taylor and Bachynski. Arizona quickly answered, pushing the lead to double digits with 3s from York and Hollis-Jefferson that made it 35-24. The Utes cut it to single digits again when Onwas took another steal in for a dunk to make it 35-26. Arizona had a chance to take a 12-point lead into the locker room when Jordin Mayes nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the officials waved it off during halftime. Utah cut the lead to 40-33 when Taylor stole the ball from Johnson and took it in for a layup. The Wildcats thwarted the rally for a time, going back up by 12 on McConnells jumper. But the Utes ripped off a 10-2 run to get back into the game. A pair of big baskets from freshman Ahmad Fields cut the deficit to 48-44. Arizona endured a short cold spell after a layup from McConnell made it 52-44 with 6:41 left, going 3:13 without a field goal. The Wildcats also had to finish the game without star forward Aaron Gordon after he fouled out with 8:41 left in the second half. Utah took advantage with an 11-2 run and went ahead 55-54 on a runner from Jordan Loveridge with 3:09 remaining. Arizona regained a one-point lead on Johnsons jumper with 2:21 left. Utah tied it when Loveridge made one of two free throws with 28 seconds to go. McConnell had a chance to win it for the Wildcats in regulation, but missed a runner in the lane as time expired. Arizona made sure its second chance to win in overtime didnt slip away. "At some points, we werent playing smart basketball," McConnell said. "But at the end we did and thats what matters most." ' ' '