The Phoenix Suns competed hard tonight, but ultimately fell short in the 4th quarter with heavy legs in the second of a back-to-back.
Late game turnovers and a Rockets momentum shift in energy/effort propelled the Rockets to a victory. Phoenix fought back after it looked like Houston was going to put them away for good. Devin Booker airballed his chance at a go-ahead bucket, and Kevin Durant did not.
Grayson Allen returned, but looked a bit rusty. Devin Booker poured in 27 points, Brooks and O’Neale chipped in with 15 apiece.
It was a weird game with an extended clock delay and a PA announcer counting down the shot clock for a good chunk of the first half. The Suns played hard, and that’s all you can ask for in these circumstances.
First Half
The Suns jumped out to a quick 7-2 start, much to the dismay of Ime Udoka, who called a quick timeout with 9:46 left in the quarter. There was some early physicality on both ends, as you’d expect from these teams.
Collin Gillespie hit his second triple of the game to push that lead to 10-2. Houston answered with a quick 7-0 to make it a one-point game. The teams were knotted up at 16 apiece at the next break, which came at the 4:53 mark.
Phoenix’s defensive intensity was high early on, forcing Houston into turnovers. They had 5 steals in the first quarter alone. Jordan Goodwin hit a trio of threes on consecutive possessions to pick up where he left off last night against the Thunder.
After one, the Suns led 29-25, led by 11 points from Jordan Goodwin.
The start of the second quarter was delayed due to a clock malfunction that only seemed to occur when the Suns were inbounding or generating momentum. It led to an AAU-like environment where the shot clock was being counted down by the PA announcer.
Royce O’Neale hit a pair of big threes to keep the Rockets at bay momentarily as they continued to chip away at Phoenix’s lead.
Phoenix lost its challenge midway through the quarter on a foul called against Rasheer Fleming after they felt Kevin Durant pushed him into it.
Oso Ighodaro provided some useful minutes off the bench, including a breakaway dunk to push the Suns’ lead up to six. Grayson Allen dished out 6 assists in the first half.
At halftime, Phoenix led 60-54. Booker, Gillespie, and Goodwin all had 11 points to pace the Suns. Ighodaro and O’Neale had nine points each.
Second Half
The second half opened with a frantic pace, including a quick 5-0 burst from a Devin Booker alley-oop to Mark Williams, followed by a Royce O’Neale steal off an inbound and dish to Dillon Brooks for three.
That sequence led to a Rockets timeout with the Suns leading 67-56. An 8-second violation followed that timeout, with Phoenix retaining possession.
The Rockets went on a run to quickly respond to the 13-point lead Phoenix built up. A Kevin Durant dunk cut the lead down to just six moments after the Suns pushed it up to 13.
The defensive intensity on both ends went up a notch towards the backhalf of the third quarter. Houston got rewarded with a bevvy of fouls on marginal contact, which wasn’t reciprocated on the other end of the floor.
A frustrated Jordan Ott called for a timeout with exactly two minutes remaining, and the teams knotted up at 78.
Neither team scored during those final two minutes, and we entered the 4th quarter deadlocked at 78 apiece.
Houston built their biggest lead of the night to five to open the 4th, leading to a Suns timeout. The legs were starting to look a bit heavy for Phoenix in their second contest in as many nights.
The Rockets continued their downhill attack, and the Suns made some careless passes that resulted in turnovers and extra possessions for Houston. Jabari Smith, hitting one of two free throws, pushed their lead to seven, 94-87.
A Devin Booker 4-0 run got the Suns within one after he made one free throw, missed the second, but Phoenix recovered the rebound and dished it out to Book for three.
Devin Booker had a chance to give the Suns a go-ahead bucket with 5 seconds left, and airballed on a stepback two, leading to a shot clock violation. Durant drilled a dagger for the win. Ballgame.
In the end, despite a furious late-game comeback, the Suns ran out of gas, and Houston secured the win.
The Suns will head over to Tennessee to take on the Grizzlies on Wednesday night in Memphis.