The sequence began with Phoenix and Houston tied at 95, and it ended with Devin Booker making the Suns look far more organized than they had for most of the night. Booker hit a 10-foot step-back jumper with 3:48 left, added a 25-foot step-back three at 3:13 and followed with a two-point basket at 2:30.
Seven consecutive Phoenix points created a 102-95 lead and carried the Suns to a 102-99 victory over the Houston Rockets Saturday at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Miles Bridges helped keep Phoenix’s attack moving with seven assists and no turnovers, while Khaman Maluach collected 10 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Those contributions gave Booker support around the closing burst. The Suns had already spent much of the night using up a lead that once reached 19.
Phoenix had led by 19 points before Houston dragged the game back into a tie. The Suns scored only 12 points in the second quarter and made four baskets in 19 attempts, while the Rockets put up 24. A 22-3 Houston run turned a comfortable opening into a 47-47 halftime score, leaving Phoenix to win the sort of game it had already made unnecessarily difficult.
The early offense had looked almost effortless. Phoenix’s opening quarter yielded 16 makes in 21 attempts and a 35-23 lead. Then the possessions became less reliable, the shots stopped falling and Houston’s pressure at the rim began to matter.
The Rockets finished with eight blocked shots and 15 offensive rebounds, numbers that explain why the Suns could not simply wait for their first-quarter shooting to return.
Booker eventually supplied the escape hatch, but his whole night was hardly a smooth march toward a star turn. He finished with 24 points on 10-of-24 shooting, made 2 of 9 three-pointers and turned the ball over four times. The late burst was his best stretch, not a verdict that every earlier possession had been solved.
Phoenix needed other people to keep the game within reach. Miles Bridges scored 13 points, collected 10 rebounds and handed out seven assists without committing a turnover. In the fourth quarter, he hit an 11-foot pull-up to put the Suns ahead 89-86, then knocked down a three at 6:42 for a 92-89 edge.
His assist on Booker’s basket at 2:30 helped produce the final seven-point cushion.
That is the sort of contribution Phoenix needed while Booker was still searching for a dependable outside rhythm. Bridges moved the ball, made several timely shots and avoided giving Houston an extra possession through a careless pass. His zero in the turnover column stands out on a team that finished with 16 giveaways.
It did not fix the second quarter, but it helped prevent the fourth from becoming another collapse.
