Jalen Green's Thrilling Third Quarter Leads Rockets Past Suns

The Houston Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns 111-104. All five of Houston's starters scored in double digits, led by Jalen Green, who had 29 points.

Houston and Phoenix started the game with a lot of back-and-forth shooting, but after leading by seven, the Rockets trailed the Suns by four points late in the first quarter, causing Ime Udoka to call a timeout. Steven Adams checked in the game to play alongside Alperen Sengun, which continued to work as the Rockets went on a small run to obtain their lead back. Green shot 4-for-7 in the period, scoring 11 points and leading the team to a 5-point advantage going into the second quarter.

Aaron Holiday, Cam Whitmore, Jeff Green, Sengun, and Adams were the five to start the second period. They were able to get Houston up to a seven-point lead, but due to their slow speed on the court, Phoenix was flying on offense and started to make a dent in the lead. Adams got ejected towards the end of the second quarter due to a scuffle with Mason Plumlee, who also got ejected. The Rockets went on a 7-2 run to end the period due to blitzing Devin Booker and forcing a shot clock violation, as well as points from Sengun taking advantage of the Suns having no weak side help in the paint. Green ended the first half with 15 points.

Green went ballistic in the third quarter, scoring 14 points. He controlled the entire fourth quarter by himself as he was moving the needle for the Rockets, getting open looks for teammates, and cashing in buckets. Phoenix continued to commit turnovers, leading Houston to score and have a commanding lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Fred VanVleet gave Houston its biggest lead of the game of 13 points with a nifty crossover into a layup, just under five minutes into the fourth period. Dillon Brooks dished the ball to Tari Eason for an easy dunk to give the Rockets a 15-point lead, again, due to a lack of weak side help in the paint for the Suns.

The Rockets face the Dallas Mavericks at Toyota Center on Friday. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. CST.