NBA scores 2016: Under Earl Watson, at least the Suns aren’t embarrassing themselves

Phoenix fired Jeff Hornacek two games ago and while they still haven’t won, at least the effort is there.

Feb 5, 2016, 2:00 PM UTC

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns' disastrous, dreadful season reached a breaking point last Sunday in Dallas. After a 91-78 loss to the Mavericks, head coach Jeff Hornacek was fired as soon as the team plane landed back in Arizona and the interim title was handed to Earl Watson, who had been promoted to assistant coach just weeks prior. Given the state of the Suns, Watson was given the role not under the assumptions that he'd pull the team out of a toxic waste bin of injuries and disappointment, but that he at least wouldn't make it any worse.

It certainly isn't better. On Thursday, the Suns lost again, falling 111-105 to the Houston Rockets. It's the sixth straight loss for Phoenix and the 22nd out of their last 24 games. Eric Bledsoe and T.J. Warren are both out for the season and Brandon Knight continues to miss time. But at least the Suns can say that with Watson on the sidelines, they tried their damnedest.

Phoenix committed a mind-numbing 24 turnovers, but they forced the Rockets into 16 turnovers themselves. Many of them were messy effort plays or moments where they were trying too hard -- overeager outlet passes, forced entries to the post, fast breaks that should’ve been slowed into a quality halfcourt possession. On both sides, though, legs were churning. Fittingly, the Rockets put the game away with consecutive stolen passes, but at least the two-way sloppiness for Phoenix was enthusiastic.

Houston went through a similar transition a little more than a month ago, canning Kevin McHale and bringing on J.B. Bickerstaff as the interim coach. The Rockets had also gotten off to a dismal start based on huge expectations from last year's No. 2 finish and trip to the Western Conference Finals. McHale hadn't been able to fix the Rockets' effort problems, so the Rockets hoped giving way to the younger, more player-friendly Bickerstaff would trigger a change.

Since McHale's firing, the Rockets have gone 23-18 -- still not what they hoped for, but certainly better than before. Many of Corey Brewer's game-high 24 points on Thursday came from his traditional leak outs performed at a full sprint, and his effort spread to his teammates. It wasn't a great game for James Harden, shooting just 4-of-19 for 17 points, but he made the most of his time on the court, still finishing a game-high plus-14.

The Suns are 10.5 games out of the No. 8 seed with 31 games to play. In other words, they're eliminated in every manner but the math or by miracle. They're shifting the offense to Markieff Morris and Devin Booker now, and while that may not be the best strategy, at least they have one. Despite poor shooting, Booker was impressive once again on Thursday, scoring 17 points despite only three made field goals. He accepted the double teams and traps that came when Phoenix ran pick-and-rolls and accurately passing out of them to keep the offense clicking. His development, and potentially Morris getting back on track, are the important things for Watson and the Suns to worry about, even as most fans of Phoenix think this year can't end quickly enough.

This isn’t what the team or anyone else expected out of this Suns’ season, but to keep worrying about that is to keep dwelling in the past. All Phoenix can hope for is a path similar to the one the Rockets took, where they at least see gradual improvement during the season’s final months, even if it doesn’t translate to anything meaningful in the standings.

The Suns couldn’t snap their losing streak on Thursday, but they didn’t embarrass themselves. After an entire season of doing so, that’s a good start.

3 more things from Thursday

A marvelous Knicks comeback wasn't to be

Jumping out to a 27-point lead by the second quarter, Detroit looked like they had rolled New York into a wad and tossed them out the window before the game even reached halftime. Instead, steadily but surely, New York crept back into the game, cutting the lead to 20 shortly after intermission, then to single digits, until they finally went up by one with about a minute left to play.

Despite Arron Afflalo’s hot hand and Langston Galloway’s absurd shotmaking off the bench, though, the comeback didn’t have enough left to be completed. Reggie Jackson responded with a couple of backbreaking three-pointers, and that was that.

The Pelicans can't even beat the Lakers, despite Bryce Dejean-Jones' efforts

Who? That's what everyone's reaction has been this week. With Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon both injured, the Pelicans signed Dejean-Jones to a 10-day contract and on Thursday, he led New Orleans with 43 minutes played while scoring 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The Pelicans lost again, further losing grasp on the playoffs life preserver cast out to them by a weaker Western Conference, but Dejean-Jones' effort couldn't be faulted for the embarrassment.

Bryce Dejean-Jones, on a 10-day contract, leads the Pelicans in minutes. Because he gives a damn.
— The Bird Writes (@thebirdwrites) February 5, 2016

Even as Davis went for an effortless 39, it was Dejean-Jones who stood out the most. The best way to sum up his and the Pelicans’ night on Thursday is this missed dunk -- a vicious attempt that nearly went in but came just shy.

Hopefully the Pelicans extend him for the entire season.

The field for NBA All-Star Saturday is official

The dunkers will be Zach LaVine, Will Barton, Aaron Gordon and Andre Drummond. LaVine is the reigning Slam Dunk Contest champ and clearly the favorite, but keep your eyes out for Drummond. The shooters will be the Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, J.J. Redick, Kyle Lowry, James Harden, Khris Middleton, Chris Bosh and Devin Booker. This is Curry's fifth appearance as he guns for his second win, defending last year's title. Booker is the first rookie to appear in the contest since Curry, and the fourth rookie overall.

The rest of the information and All-Star Weekend schedule can be found here.