Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant combined for 59 points to pace a blistering shooting effort, and the Houston Rockets rolled to a 117-98 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Friday.
Durant scored 17 of his 28 points in the second quarter to turn the tide, while Thompson scored 31 points on 12-for-17 shooting from the field. The Rockets excelled despite the absence of Alperen Sengun (illness), who leads the team in rebounds and assists and is second behind Durant in scoring.
Durant added eight assists to his ledger and became the eighth player in NBA history to eclipse 31,000 career points.
Dillon Brooks paced the Suns with 23 points while Collin Gillespie chipped in 13. Phoenix was without leading scorer Devin Booker (groin) and shot 39% from the field, including 5 for 36 on 3-pointers.
Brooks keyed a hot start for the Suns, and his three-point play at the 4:17 mark of the first quarter lifted Phoenix to a 20-15 lead. Brooks scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the opening period to help the Suns carry a 31-24 lead into the second.
The Rockets committed six turnovers and shot 40.9% in the first. Halfway through the second quarter, Durant almost singlehandedly reversed the hosts’ fortunes by converting back-to-back three-point plays that fueled a 17-2 rally.
When Durant completed his second three-point play, the Rockets grabbed a 46-44 lead with 5:47 left in the first half. Durant fed Thompson for a dunk that extended that advantage to 54-46, and when Durant assisted a Josh Okogie baseline dunk that closed the first half, the Rockets led 68-58. Durant missed only one of eight shots in the second period and added three assists as the offensive linchpin for the Rockets, who shot 78.3% in the quarter.
The Rockets pulled away from the start of the third, with Durant finding Thompson for a dunk after passing out of a double team before Jabari Smith Jr. (16 points) added a pull-up jumper. When Durant and Thompson combined for an alley-oop fastbreak dunk, Houston led 74-58.
Houston led by as many as 30 in the fourth quarter before both teams cleared their respective benches.
