The Suns were defeated by the Rockets, 114–110. Leading the way with 23 points was Fred VanVleet.

The Suns were defeated by the Rockets, 114–110. Leading the way with 23 points was Fred VanVleet.

Houston (AP) — Friday night, the Houston Rockets defeated the Suns 114-110 by withstanding a late Phoenix comeback led by Fred VanVleet, who scored 23 points, and Jabari Smith Jr., who finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds.

“We’re discovering and learning as a team that there are many different ways to win in the NBA, and tonight was a good night for us,” VanVleet remarked.

After suffering a setback in Dallas the previous evening, Kevin Durant led Phoenix with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Bol Bol posted season highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds, while fellow All-Star Devin Booker chipped in with 25 points.

With 28,296 points, Durant surpassed Carmelo Anthony (28,289) to take the ninth spot on the NBA scoring chart.

Phoenix coach Frank Vogel stated, “He’s one of the best to ever do it and it’s really special for me to be part of these milestones with him.”

Bradley Beal, who has missed three straight games due to stiffness in his left hamstring, and Jusuf Nurkic, who has a damaged right ankle, were not available for Phoenix.

Vogel wouldn’t attribute Phoenix’s failure to convert late opportunities to a lack of personnel.

He declared, “We weren’t playing a good basketball game.” “We started the first quarter strong, but we couldn’t maintain it.”

The fourth quarter began with Houston leading by double digits, but with roughly five minutes remaining, the Suns pulled ahead.

Soon after, the Rockets took the lead again, and with 17 seconds remaining, rookie Amen Thompson sank one of his two free throws for Houston to put the score at 110-108. However, in the midst of wrestling for the rebound, the Suns knocked the ball out of bounds. With nine seconds left, Smith converted one of his two free throws to put the score 111-108.

With seven seconds remaining, Booker converted two free throws to bring the Suns within one once more. Smith sank both of his free throws this time, putting Houston ahead 113–110.

After that, Durant was purposefully fouled by Smith, and on his second attempt, his shot slid in and out of the hoop before the Suns were penalized for a lane violation.

With four seconds remaining, VanVleet missed a free throw, but Houston grabbed the rebound. Alperen Sengun sealed the victory with one of his two free throws, bringing the score to 114-110.

Ime Udoka, the coach of Houston, stated, “I think the execution was decent.” “For the foul shots, we like to get it to specific guys, and sometimes we just couldn’t quite get it to Fred.” However, other guys came forward and made them.

Before Phoenix went on a 12-2 run to knot the score at 96, they were behind by 10 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Bol, who had only hit four 3-pointers this season, connected on two of them during that run to aid the Suns in drawing even.

Bol’s performance was praised by Vogel, who was just one rebound and one point short of matching his career highs in both categories.

Bol’s performance was praised by Vogel, who was just one rebound and one point short of matching his career highs in both categories.

Vogel pronounced him to be “great.” There isn’t another way to phrase it. We’re looking for the ideal settings so that he can flourish. He entered and made the most of his minutes. He simply produced play after play.