PHOENIX Suns halted its losing run with a dominant 129-113 victory over Houston Rockets in the 2023-2024 NBA Season on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Kevin Durant posted a triple-double of 27 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds, while Eric Gordon connected seven triples for a season-high of 27 points to lead the Suns.
Devin Booker chipped in 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals, while Grayson Allen and Udoka Azubuike ended with 16 and 11 markers, respectively, as the Suns halted a three-game slide for a 15-15 win-loss slate.
Holding to a slim 30-24 lead after the first quarter, the Suns got a huge lift from Gordon’s consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter as they established a 73-55 halftime lead.
The Suns’ lead went up to as high as 20 points in the third quarter before the Rockets tried to claw back to within 13 points. Phoenix responded with connections from Durant and Gordon to seal the win.
Alperen Sengun top-scored with 24 points, Filipino-American guard Jalen Green added 23 points, while Aaron Holiday, Cam Whitmore and Fred VanVleet contributed 13, 12, and 10, respectively, as the Rockets dropped to 15-14.
Meanwhile, Cleveland Cavaliers (18-13) clawed back from a double-digit deficit to defeat Dallas Mavericks (18-13), 113-110, over at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Down 91-101 midway through the final period, the Cavaliers got conversions from Caris LeVert, Jarret Allen and Georges Niang to cut the deficit to 104-105.
A three-pointer by LeVert gave the Cavaliers a 107-105 lead before they continued their finishing run with free throws from Allen and Isaac Okoro for a 113-107 with 21 seconds left.
LeVert led the way with 29 points, including six three-pointers, Allen chipped in a double-double of 24 points and 23 rebounds, while Okoro and Niang chipped in 22 and 16 points, respectively, for the Cavs./PN
BOX SCORE:
PHOENIX 129 – Gordon 27, Durant 27, Booker 20, Allen 16, Azubuike 11, S. Lee 9, Nurkic 8, Little 7, Metu 4, Okogie 0, Bol 0, Watanabe 0.
HOUSTON 113 – Sengun 24, Ja. Green 23, Holiday 13, Whitmore 12, VanVleet 10, Smith 9, Tate 7, Eason 6, Landale 5, Je. Green 2, Thompson 2, Bullock 0.
Quarterscores: 30-24, 73-55, 104-84, 129-113.
