Suns 123, Rockets 111: Comeback falls just short in sixth straight loss

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, the facts of life. And the facts of life for the Houston Rockets are that they lost their sixth straight game Thursday night to the Phoenix Suns in a 123-111 loss.

The facts of life for the Rockets had some good, especially in the first quarter when Christian Wood nearly put up a double-double in his first 11:31 of action. The offense continues to run through him and it has been for the Rockets’ benefit. Wood finished the game with 18 points and 15 rebounds.

The Rockets did a good job drawing fouls tonight and getting to the free throw line. As a team, they shot 24 of 28 from the free throw line.

The team also did a better job limiting turnovers, arguably the team’s biggest issue during this first stretch of the season. The Rockets have committed 20.1 turnovers per game, but only committed 18 tonight. It’s never a good thing when you’re commending a team having double-digit turnovers, but it is a decrease from their average.

The lack of turnovers and ability to get to the free throw line helped put the Rockets ahead at halftime for the second game in a row, but similar to the Lakers’ game Tuesday night, the Rockets failed to be ahead of the curve on their opponent’s adjustments.

The Suns exploded for 37 third-quarter points to take a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter, a deficit the Rockets flirted with trying to get past but never could.

Devin Booker was the biggest proponent behind the Suns’ comeback, scoring a game-high 27 points on 8 of 18 shooting.

The Rockets went on an 8-0 run during the fourth quarter to cut the deficit back to seven with a little over four minutes to go, but it was not enough for the Rockets to overcome.

Kevin Porter Jr. led all Rockets in scoring with 20, and six Rockets ended up scoring in double figures, but the team was unable to put together four quarters of solid basketball.

The road trip continues Saturday when the team heads to Denver to face the Nuggets. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. CT.