Phoenix finally found a way past Houston on Saturday night, beating the Rockets 102–99 behind Devin Booker's decisive late scoring burst. The win ended an eight-game losing streak in the matchup and gave the Suns consecutive victories for the first time this season. Booker finished with 24 points, but Phoenix's ball movement and bench production helped keep the game within reach long enough for its closer to take over. NBA final and team statistics.
With the score tied at 95, Booker scored seven consecutive Phoenix points, first putting the Suns ahead with a basket, then stretching the margin with a three and another finish. Houston's Kevin Durant had a chance to force overtime but missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds. Booker's finish mattered all the more because Phoenix had already watched a substantial early advantage disappear. Reuters game report.
The Suns opened with a 35–23 first quarter, shooting 16-for-21 from the floor. Then their offence almost vanished: they scored just 12 points in the second period as Houston hauled the game level at 47–47 by half-time. It would've been easy for Phoenix to lose its nerve after squandering a lead that had reached 19 points. Instead, the Suns steadied themselves in a third quarter that finished 29–28 in their favour and took a slender 76–75 advantage into the fourth.
The more revealing numbers sit away from Booker's scoring column. Phoenix recorded 29 assists to Houston's 16 and won the bench-scoring contest 34–15. Miles Bridges supplied 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Jalen Green added 16 points. That combination gave Phoenix more than one route into its offence, particularly important on a night when Booker needed 24 field-goal attempts for his 24 points. The Suns didn't simply ask their star to solve every possession.
Houston, meanwhile, had enough chances to steal it. Durant posted 21 points and 10 rebounds, Amen Thompson scored 17 and Fred VanVleet added 16. Yet the Rockets shot only 36-for-94 from the field, including 10-for-35 from deep. Their 16 assists against Phoenix's 29 underline the difference in how consistently the two teams created shots. Houston did recover from the first-half hole, but its late offence couldn't match Booker's precision when the game tightened.
Phoenix's 48.2 per cent field-goal shooting against Houston's 38.3 per cent also helps explain how the Suns survived despite giving up more offensive rebounds and attempting fewer free throws. It wasn't a spotless performance: a 12-point second quarter is the sort of collapse that can undo an otherwise strong night. But Phoenix produced enough quality possessions across the other three periods, then trusted Booker to finish the job.
For the Suns, this was more than an isolated clutch highlight. Their first back-to-back wins, achieved against Orlando and Houston, offer a concrete sign that their supporting cast can contribute to winning basketball alongside Booker. For the Rockets, the immediate issue is less about the final missed shot than the inefficient possessions that preceded it. Houston now faces Denver, while Phoenix meets San Antonio, with both teams carrying a clear lesson from a three-point contest.
Comments