PHOENIX — Devin Booker took over late against his former teammate Kevin Durant, and the Phoenix Suns held on to beat the Houston Rockets 102-99 on Saturday night, according to Arizona Sports.
Booker scored nine straight Suns points during a 9-2 run in the middle of the fourth quarter, putting Phoenix up by seven with about 2:30 left. Durant, who played with Booker in Phoenix and on Team USA, missed several shots during that stretch.
Durant hit a baseline jumper with 47 seconds left to cut the lead to three, then missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining that could have tied the game.
The win was built on defense. The Suns had ranked near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency early this season, but head coach Jordan Ott said, “In stretches, I thought that was some of our best defense of the year.”
“We’re playing desperate on the defensive end,” forward Dillon Brooks said. “Getting hands on loose balls, covering for each other, our pick-and-roll defense was really good.”
Center Oso Ighodaro, back in the starting lineup, told Arizona Sports the game felt like last season’s team. “Just our competitiveness, our execution was there,” he said.
Phoenix played without guard Jordan Goodwin, who was out with a right calf injury, and center Mark Williams, who remains out after left shoulder surgery. Forward Rasheer Fleming was available after being listed as questionable with a left ankle sprain. Houston was missing backup centers Clint Capela and Steven Adams.
The Suns continue their homestand this week.
Sources: Arizona Sports, Arizona Sports injury report. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Sean Dudley / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
