Rockets Burn Suns, 111-104, Win Fourth Straight
Poetry in Motion. Launching Ahead. Halfway Home.
Fueled by Jalen Green’s 29 points, the Rockets beat the Suns, 111-104, on Wednesday night. The victory is Houston’s fourth straight win overall, as the Rockets continue to roll as we wind down the final month of the season. Alperen Sengun scored 20 points and added 7 rebounds. Dillon Brooks stayed hot offensively, scoring 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting, whilst Tari Eason provided 15 points and 10 boards for Houston. And in his return, Fred VanVleet scored 10 points. More importantly, FVV kept the Rockets under control as Houston rolled to their fourth straight win. On defense, the Rockets held Phoenix’s Big Three in check. Bradley Beal led the Suns with an above-average game, scoring 25 points. However, Houston held the potent duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to only 19 points apiece.
In the second quarter, Steven Adams and Mason Plumlee got into a wrestling match of sorts, with both men hitting the ground with authority. Both players were ejected from the contest, but nothing egregious happened to warrant any future fines from the NBA. Sengun had arguably the best pass of this entire Rockets season. Late in the fourth quarter, Sengun had an incredible no-look behind-the-back dish to Tari Eason for the bucket. The Wizard’s had a few passes in that vein this season, but Wednesday night’s was the best so far… pure poetry in motion.
Houston is now halfway though their current six-game homestand, the longest of the season. The Rockets have taken care of business as they’ve built a four-game winning streak, and there’s no reason the squad shouldn’t continue the streak throughout this home stretch. The ravaged Dallas Mavericks, the consistently below-average Chicago Bulls, and the disappointing Cancun-bound Philadelphia 76ers are Houston’s remaining opponents on this home stand. And if they continue to beat the teams they’re supposed to, the Rockets have a chance to launch ahead in the standings, potentially even all the way back up to the second seed.
The playoff race is getting closer, as Houston is currently only one game in the loss column behind all three teams they’re chasing for the Western Conference’s second seed: the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Lakers. And currently, the Rockets own the tiebreaker will all three of those teams. Houston still has remaining matchups with the Nuggets and Lakers to decide those tiebreakers, but the Rockets own the tiebreaker with Grizz, besting them in three out of four meetings this season.