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HOUSTON -- The Phoenix Suns did something against the Houston Rockets they had not done in their previous two games. Every time the Rockets made a run at the young Suns on Wednesday night, Phoenix responded. Eric Bledsoe had 20 points and seven assists to lead Phoenix to a 97-88 win over Houston on Wednesday night that snapped the Suns two-game losing streak. PJ Tucker added 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with six rebounds. Channing Frye had 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, and Goran Dragic chipped in 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting for the Suns, who shot 45.6 per cent from the field, including 45.8 per cent from behind the arc. "Throughout the year, we have had games where we have the lead in the fourth quarter," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We have blown some, and as a young team, that happens. You want to see the progress where that doesnt happen. They cut it down, and we could have gotten panicked where we forced shots, but we didnt." Dwight Howard had 15 points and 18 rebounds, Aaron Brooks added 17 points and six assists, and Omri Casspi had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets, who lost their second straight game. James Harden, who was guarded by Tucker, finished with 14 points, hitting 3 of 17 from the field and going 0 for 10 from behind the arc. Patrick Beverley had 12 points and eight rebounds. Houston shot 35 per cent from the floor and turned the ball over 23 times. Houston coach Kevin McHale said the Rockets did not play very well. "In the first quarter, Phoenix came up and got real aggressive with us and were denying us around the court," McHale said. "We didnt handle that very well, and then you compound that with shots not going. We had no flow tonight. . I just thought the 13 assists, 23 turnovers, some really errant passing. We gave up 25 points off our turnovers, so we just fed them." The Rockets opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run to cut the Suns lead to 75-74 on Brooks 3-pointer with 7 minutes remaining. As they did throughout the game, the Suns responded, going on a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to expand the lead to 14 on Marcus Morris 3-pointer with 3 minutes remaining. Houston tried to answer, closing within 88-82 on an 8-0 run capped by Brooks 3-pointer with 1:49 remaining. "Playing on the road against the No. 1 offensive team in the league, you know they are going to make a run," Tucker said. "Its just one of those things where you keep playing hard and keep taking those shots. We started missing some shots, but we wanted to stick with it and pushing the ball back up." Again, the Suns would have an answer as Morris connected on a 3-pointer from the corner followed by two free throws from Dragic to push the lead to 11 with 1:15 left. "We know that Houston likes to push the ball," Dragic said. "In every NBA game, we know that every team is going to have a run. If youre solid on defence and play together on offence, I think we find the right open guy at the right time, and he makes shot. Thats huge play." Houston tried once more to slice into the lead, getting it down to seven points on Beverleys 3-pointer with 57 seconds left. Houston got no closer the rest of the way. Howard said the Rockets bad offensive night had nothing to do with them missing shots, the Suns "just played harder than us." "We cant give away games like this," Howard said. "It will come back to bite us in games later this season. Weve got to learn how, no matter how many guys we have out there, short-handed and all, weve got to play the same way, play hard and play aggressive." After the Rockets got to 63-61 on Garcias 3-pointer with 2:20 left in the third, the Suns finished the quarter on a 10-0 run, capped by two free throws by Markieff Morris to take a 12-point lead into the fourth. Houston opened the second half with an 11-4 run to get within 55-51 on Beverleys 3-pointer with 6:50 remaining in the third quarter. Phoenix used a 14-3 run over a three-minute span of the second quarter to take a 47-34 lead on Tuckers 3 with 3:09 remaining in the quarter. The Suns shot 50 per cent in the first half and took a 51-40 lead into the break. Houston shot 29.8 per cent in the first half. "We just didnt have enough energy," Harden said. "We didnt make shots on the offensive end or move the basketball, and they did." NOTES: Jeremy Lin sat out with a right knee sprain. ... Houston said centre Omer Asik will miss a week with a right thigh contusion. Asik will be re-evaluated at the end of the week. . Houston forward Chandler Parsons missed his second straight game with back spasms. . Phoenix centre Alex Len missed his eighth straight game with a sore left ankle. John Wensink Jersey . -- Josh Smith made a 3-pointer as time expired and finished with 20 points to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 99-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night in both teams exhibition finale. Erik Johnson Jersey . The Rainbow FlickNext up is the Rainbow Flick, or as you probably know it, the trick that everybody at soccer camp thought they knew how to do. http://www.hockeyavalanche.com/authentic...alanche-jersey/. - A late-game interception by defensive back Malcolm Butler saved the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots. Gabriel Landeskog Avalanche Jersey . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. Patrick Roy Avalanche Jersey . Neither side would publicly confirm or deny any discussions were taking place, until the near unexpected happened. On Saturday night sources confirmed to TSN, the league and players agreed to terms on a new, tentative CBA, pending ratification by the unions players. A league source confirmed the CFLs board of governors must also ratify any potential agreement.VANCOUVER -- Daniel Sedin scored twice before leaving on a stretcher after taking a hit from behind as the Vancouver Canucks concluded what has been a disastrous season with a 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday. Frank Corrado, with his first in the NHL, Ryan Kesler and Yannick Weber also scored for Vancouver (36-35-11), while Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for his first victory with the Canucks. The result of a game that meant very little was overshadowed by a nasty incident late in the second period when Daniel Sedin was checked in the numbers by Calgarys Paul Byron and stayed down before being stretchered off. Sedin appeared to be moving his fingers, but there was no immediate update on his status. Byron was assessed a five-minute penalty for boarding and a game misconduct. The team said Sedin was taken in stable condition to hospital to undergo further evaluation. "He exhibited signs of movement to his extremities and showed improvement from initially being hit," the statement read. "No assessment will be made until completion of this evaluation." Henrik Sedin added two assists for Vancouver, which goes into the off-season with more than a few question marks after missing the playoffs for the first time in six years. Johnny Gaudreau scored in his first NHL game and Karri Ramo stopped 18 shots for Calgary (35-40-7) as the Flames wrapped up a 2013-14 campaign that saw the team miss the post-season for the fifth straight spring. Vancouver scored twice in the first period and stretched its lead to 3-0 at 9:12 of the second on Corrados first career goal on a shot from the top of the faceoff circle through traffic past Ramo. Kesler then ripped his 25th of the season at 13:49 to make it 4-0 for Vancouver before Gaudreau scored his first in the NHL at 15:22, when a deflection in front went off his stick and past Markstrom to get Calgary on the board. The 20-year-old Gaudreau won the Hobey Baker award earlier this week as the top player in U.S. college hockey after the native of Salem, N.J. recorded 35 goals and 42 assists in 39 games this season with Boston College. After Sedin was taken off the ice before the hushed Rogers Centre crowd, Weber scored on the ensuing power play to make it 5-1 at 18:55, with Vancouver rookie Michael Zalewski picking up an assist for his first point in the NHL.dddddddddddd Markstrom, who came over as part of the Roberto Luongo trade with the Florida Panthers last month, made a nice save on a Sean Monahan breakaway early in the third but had a relatively quiet night. The summer should be interesting for both Calgary and Vancouver. The Flames need a new general manager after firing Jay Feaster in December, while the Canucks are also on the lookout for a new GM following Mike Gillis dismissal last week. The Flames have not made the playoffs since 2008-09 but came into this season with a young roster and zero expectations. The club got off to a rough start, but played much better in the New Year, a surge that coincided with the line brawl against Vancouver in January that saw Canucks head coach John Tortorella try to get into the Flames locker-room. The Canucks, meanwhile, were in a playoff spot at Christmas but stumbled badly for a 20-game stretch midway through the season because of injuries and an inability to adapt to Tortorellas system. Whether or not the embattled coach remains behind the bench next season could be one of the first decisions for newly minted president of hockey operations Trevor Linden. With playoff weather outside as temperatures reached 15 C in Vancouver on Sunday, there was more of a pre-season atmosphere with both teams playing for pride and little else. The Canucks gave up two separate 2-on-1 breaks to the Flames fourth line early in the first period but survived that scare to score the opening goal at 7:14. Vancouvers David Booth, while falling to the ice, swatted at a rebound in front that bounced off Daniel Sedin and past a surprised Ramo. Markstrom then made a couple of nice saves on a Calgary man advantage midway through the period before the Canucks doubled their lead at 13:57 on a power play of their own when Sedin chipped home his 16th of the campaign. It marked Sedins first two-goal game of the season and first since Feb. 24, 2013 -- a span of 101 games. Notes: The Canucks inducted former head coach and general manager Pat Quinn into the Ring of Honour high above the ice surface prior to the game. Quinn led the Canucks team that lost in Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup final to the New York Rangers. ... Canucks players are scheduled to meet the media on Monday morning at Rogers Arena. ' ' '