Rockets No Match for Johnson’s Magic : NBA playoffs: He scores 43 as Suns rally for 114-110 victory and 3-1 lead in series.

Kevin Johnson gave his best when it was needed the most and pushed the defending champion Houston Rockets to the brink of elimination.

Johnson scored his playoff best, 43 points--24 in the second half--to bring the Suns back from a 15-point third-quarter deficit Sunday as Phoenix took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 114-110 victory.

Charles Barkley, who had only five points and was 0 for 10 from the field in Saturday’s loss to the Rockets, scored 19 of his 26 points in the first half.

Game 5 is Tuesday in Phoenix and Barkley expects another fight from the Rockets.

“They won’t die. You have to kill them like a snake,” Barkley said.

It was a devastating defeat for the Rockets, who held a 78-63 lead with 6:44 left in the third quarter. But Johnson found the range, and the Suns used a 28-10 run to take a 91-88 lead entering the fourth quarter.

“That’s what basketball is all about,” said Johnson, who made 18 of 24 shots. “It was easy. We looked at the scoreboard and we were down by 15, and then we went on a run and we were back in it before long.

“We haven’t made a run like that here in a long time.”

Johnson’s previous playoff high was 38 points. His all-time high is 44 points.

Wesley Person scored 10 points during the Suns’ third-quarter run, and Johnson made all five of his third-quarter shots. Person’s three-point basket with 32 seconds left in the quarter gave Phoenix its first lead since the first quarter, at 89-88.

“I thought it was a very hard-fought game,” Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “Little things pile up--missing 10 free throws, not shooting our percentage, missing big plays and a couple of questionable calls. Those things just add up.”

The Rockets didn’t quit early in the fourth quarter, taking a 106-99 lead with 4:41 to play on a dunk by Mario Elie. But that was the Rockets’ final basket.

Phoenix took the lead for good at 108-107 on Barkley’s two free throws with 1:23 to play after a foul on Elie.

Hakeem Olajuwon scored 38 points to lead the Rockets, Clyde Drexler added 22 and Robert Horry pulled down 17 rebounds. Person finished with 16 points for the Suns.

“It’s a tough situation, a big swing,” Tomjanovich said. “Instead of 2-2, it’s 1-3 and we’re going out there. I feel confident we’ll give a hell of an effort.”

Olajuwon had 19 first-half points, helping the Rockets to a 64-54 lead at the break.

“I tried so hard to make it happen and you make mistakes,” Olajuwon said. “It was a tough loss. We lost something toward the end, the aggression. I have to give them a lot of credit.

“Now we’re in a very tough position. We’ll give them our best shot out there.”

Barkley missed his first two shots before making five in a row and finishing the half with 19 points.

“I’m just glad we were ahead,” Sun Coach Paul Westphal said. “I think they made some shots and we stayed with them. They couldn’t put us away. It looked like Hakeem was getting tired at the end of the third quarter. That helped.”