6 days ago
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The Houston Rockets returned to Toyota Center on Monday night looking for a palate cleanser after a brutal loss in Dallas. What they got instead was chaos, stoppages, cold shooting, and a Phoenix team that came in hot from deep. What mattered was that Houston survived it better.
From the opening minutes, rhythm was impossible to find. Collin Gillespie opened the night with a three, Houston answered with energy, and then the night turned into a stop-and-start mess.
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By the end of the first half, the shot clock had malfunctioned eight separate times. Players were sent back to the bench repeatedly. Momentum was erased over and over again. Any flow either team tried to build was cut short.
And still, Houston stayed connected.
The Suns controlled early stretches behind perimeter shotmaking. They went 10-for-21 from three in the first half and outpaced Houston in transition, piling up a 23-4 edge in fastbreak points by halftime. Phoenix led 60-54 at the break, despite Houston owning the second-chance battle 17-0. It was a strange split: Phoenix thriving on speed, Houston grinding on effort.
The Rockets weren’t shooting well. They never really did. Houston finished the night at 43.7-percent from the field and just 24.3-percent from three. But Phoenix wasn’t lighting it up either, closing at 42-percent overall and 34-percent from deep. This wasn’t a game where shotmaking separated anyone. It became about who could withstand the mess.
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The third quarter turned into a swing zone. Phoenix pushed their lead to double digits behind Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks, while Houston coughed up early turnovers and struggled to get organized.
Then Amen Thompson started to tilt things back. He attacked downhill, handled pressure, and steadied possessions when they threatened to spiral. The Rockets closed the quarter on a run, tying it at 78-78 and resetting the game entirely.
From there, execution mattered more than rhythm.
Reed Sheppard opened the fourth by giving Houston the lead, followed by a steal-to-three sequence that jolted the building awake. Jabari Smith Jr. kept extending possessions, turning offensive rebounds into points when nothing else was falling. Kevin Durant stayed patient, even on a night where his jumper wasn’t cooperating, and waited for the right moment.
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That moment came late.
After Booker nearly pulled Phoenix back in front, Thompson powered through contact for an old-fashioned three-point play to tie it. The Suns burned clock on their final possession and came up empty.
Then came the highlight of the night. Durant delivered exactly what superstars are paid for- an ice-cold pull-up three with one second left, sealing a 100-97 Houston win.
Houston didn’t outshoot Phoenix. They stayed upright when the game refused to cooperate. Thompson’s playmaking saved them late. Durant closed when it mattered. And in a night defined by disruption, the Rockets were the team that handled it better.
Houston advanced to 22-11, while Phoenix fell to 21-15.
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