20-point hole just too steep to escape
Things seemed to have gone from bad to much worse for the Rockets on Wednesday night. This time, things improved, just not enough to get a desperately needed win.
When the Rockets trailed the Suns by 17 in the second quarter, irreplaceable center Christian
Wood turned his ankle and limped to the Toyota Center locker room. Still shorthanded with the injured John Wall out until next week, the Rockets seemed to be in even greater trouble than they have faced through their stumbling start to the season.
Wood and the Rockets came back. They just never could finish the run, coming within two before the Suns surged through the final minute for a 109-103 victory that sent the Rockets to their fifth loss in six games.
Wood finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Eric Gordon and Victor Oladipo each had 22. But the Suns closed out the win late with Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker combining for 50 points, while Ayton had a seasonhigh 17 rebounds.
The Rockets started the second half making 1 of 7 shots with a pair of turnovers and the Suns pushed the lead to 20. With the Rockets struggling to get stops throughout the night when not forcing turnovers against a team that generally does not turn the ball over, they had to score to keep it tight.
When they did in the third quarter, with Gordon, Wood and Jae’Sean Tate knocking down 3-pointers, the Rockets ralled with a 23-8 surge to within five and were within seven heading to the fourth quarter.
When they started the fourth with reserves on the floor, the Rockets scored the first points of the quarter with DeMarcus Cousins setting up Mason Jones. But they then missed their next nine shots with a pair of turnovers.
As they had throughout the night, the Suns got whatever they wanted on the offensive end and shifted to preferring dunks. They pushed the lead to 15 with a 10-0 spurt before Wood and Oladipo returned for the final seven minutes seeking one more run.
With Ayton and Chris Paul out, the Rockets made a move. They cut the lead to eight before the Suns returned their starters to the floor for the final four minutes.
Gordon finished a drive to pull the Rockets within six and after Paul came up empty with a drive, Oladipo scored inside and Tate pulled the Rockets within two with 98 seconds left with a slam, completing a 14-2 run.
Ayton was fouled after grabbing an offensive board and Wood missed a 3. Booker was tripped on a drive with 45 seconds left, putting the Suns in the bonus. He made both free throws and finished a drive to finish the Rockets.
For much of the first half, the Rockets could only be happy that they somehow, somewhat inexplicably, kept the game close and no one was hurt.
Both changed at roughly the same time, but both initially seemed worse.
While the Suns tore through a sudden run that pushed the lead to 17, Wood went down with a sprained right ankle, forcing the Rockets to take a foul to allow him to immediately limp off to the locker room.
The Rockets’ most consistent contributor this season, Wood had started slowly, scoring five points with three rebounds. Oladipo had made just 2 of his first 11 shots. Yet, midway through the second quarter, the Rockets were within four with Jones going to the line.
Everything changed in a sudden rush. Suns coach Monty Williams challenged the foul called on Booker, winning the challenge of the call that would have given Booker his third foul and taking away Jones’ free throws. The Suns then bolted to a 13-0, two-minute run to lead 57-40 with 2:45 left the half.
The Rockets closed to within 63-51 at halftime after Gordon drained a late 3, giving him a 14-point half. But the Suns, who are among the league’s best at taking care of the ball, were getting almost any shot they wanted, hitting 54.8 percent of their attempts.
Paul did not take a shot in the first quarter and then hit all four of his attempts in a 13-point second quarter, often by attacking in pick-and-roll and pulling up in mid-range.
When the Rockets opened the second half misfiring, the Suns led by 20. But the Rockets and Wood still found a way to stay in the game. They were still searching for the stops they needed to finish a comeback.