Game ID: 22300806
Phoenix Suns @ Houston Rockets
Friday, February 23, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 20 37 32 25 114PHX 28 24 24 34 110
HOU vs PHX ScoutingHOU vs PHX Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
HOU availability going into 2/10 · back-to-backOUT VanVleet missed 2 since 2/06, out tonight
OUT Landale missed 2 since 2/06, returns tonight: 13 min (94% of 14)
HOU availability going into 2/12 · 1 day's restOUT VanVleet missed 3 since 2/06, out tonight
BACK Landale back 2/04 after 3, 10 min since (71% of 14)
NEW Thompson 22 to 28 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 2/14 · 1 day's restOUT VanVleet missed 4 since 2/06, out tonight
OUT Whitmore missed 2 since 2/10, out tonight
BACK Landale back 2/04 after 3, 10 min since (71% of 14)
NEW Thompson 22 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 16 to 23 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 2/22 · 7 days' restOUT VanVleet missed 5 since 2/06, returns tonight: 30 min (83% of 37)
OUT Whitmore missed 3 since 2/10, returns tonight: 24 min (130% of 19)
OUT Landale missed 2 since 2/12, returns tonight: 12 min (88% of 14)
NEW Thompson 22 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 16 to 26 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 2/23 · back-to-backBACK VanVleet back 2/22 after 5, 30 min since (83% of 37)
BACK Whitmore back 2/22 after 3, 24 min since (130% of 19)
BACK Landale back 2/10 after 2, 12 min since (91% of 14)
NEW Thompson 22 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 16 to 23 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 2/25 · 1 day's restBACK VanVleet back 2/22 after 5, 33 min since (91% of 37)
BACK Whitmore back 2/22 after 3, 22 min since (120% of 19)
BACK Landale back 2/10 after 2, 12 min since (91% of 14)
NEW Thompson 22 to 33 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 2/27 · 1 day's restOUT Tate missed 2 since 2/23, returns tonight: 2 min (16% of 16)
BACK VanVleet back 2/22 after 5, 35 min since (95% of 37)
BACK Whitmore back 2/22 after 3, 21 min since (110% of 19)
BACK Landale back 2/22 after 2, 7 min since (50% of 14)
NEW Thompson 22 to 31 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 2/29 · 1 day's restBACK VanVleet back 2/22 after 5, 35 min since (96% of 37)
BACK Whitmore back 2/22 after 3, 19 min since (104% of 19)
BACK Tate back 2/27 after 2, 2 min since (16% of 16)
BACK Landale back 2/22 after 2, 5 min since (39% of 14)
HOU availability going into 3/02 · 1 day's restBACK VanVleet back 2/22 after 5, 36 min since (98% of 37)
BACK Whitmore back 2/22 after 3, 21 min since (112% of 19)
BACK Tate back 2/27 after 2, 2 min since (16% of 16)
BACK Landale back 2/22 after 2, 6 min since (48% of 14)
PHX availability going into 2/10 · 1 day's restBACK Watanabe back 1/31 after 3, 3 min since (24% of 13)
BACK Bol back 2/04 after 11, 16 min since (146% of 11)
PHX availability going into 2/13 · 2 days' restBACK Bol back 2/04 after 11, 14 min since (130% of 11)
PHX availability going into 2/14 · back-to-backBACK Bol back 2/04 after 11, 12 min since (108% of 11)
PHX availability going into 2/22 · 7 days' rest
full strength
PHX availability going into 2/23 · back-to-backOUT Beal missed 2 since 2/14, out tonight
PHX availability going into 2/25 · 1 day's restOUT Beal missed 3 since 2/14, out tonight
PHX availability going into 2/29 · 3 days' restOUT Beal missed 4 since 2/14, out tonight
NEW Bol 11 to 17 min over the last 4
PHX availability going into 3/02 · 1 day's restOUT Beal missed 5 since 2/14, returns tonight: 20 min (60% of 34)
OUT Gordon missed 2 since 2/25, out tonight
NEW Bol 11 to 22 min over the last 4
PHX availability going into 3/03 · back-to-backOUT Gordon missed 3 since 2/25, returns tonight: 30 min (109% of 28)
BACK Beal back 3/02 after 5, 20 min since (60% of 34)
NEW Bol 11 to 22 min over the last 4
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 116, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brooks at 17 and Sengun at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Durant at 26 and Booker at 25 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Beal (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-5 a night and Phoenix minus-6 and the arc, Phoenix at 39 percent from three to Houston's 35. Call it Phoenix 115, Houston 114, Houston keeping it close.
2/10 @ ATL 113-122 — HOU notes
HOU lost 113-122. HOU took 12 more shots (100 to 88), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 44% to ATL's 45%, 13 of 43 from three, and got to the line 19 times to ATL's 37. HOU turned it over 17 times to ATL's 11. The glass went 58-41 for them. Ja. Green led with 26 (10 of 22, 2 of 9 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Je. Green added 19, Holiday 18. Q1 was theirs, 31-19, but the other 3 periods went 103-82 against them. They led by as many as 12. Je. Green's -20 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/12 vs NYK 105-103 — HOU notes
HOU won 105-103. HOU shot 45% (36 of 80) to NYK's 46%, 10 of 26 from three, and went to the line 33 times to NYK's 12 — 23 points from the stripe to their 7. HOU turned it over 11 times to NYK's 16. The glass went 39-51 against them. Brooks led with 23 (8 of 15, 6 of 7 from three); Smith Jr. added 20, Sengun 18. The hinge was Q1, 29-22: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 16. Williams was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
2/14 @ MEM 113-121 — HOU notes
HOU lost 113-121. HOU took 23 more shots (102 to 79), fed by 22 offensive rebounds, but shot 41% to MEM's 49%, 11 of 36 from three, and got to the line 28 times to MEM's 41. The glass went 56-46 for them. Brooks led with 19 (5 of 17, 2 of 10 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Sengun added 19, Thompson 19. Q2 was theirs, 28-22, the deficit cut from 15 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 99-85 against them. Holiday's -14 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/22 @ NOP 105-127 — HOU notes
HOU lost 105-127. HOU shot 44% (36 of 82) to NOP's 52%, 15 of 41 from three, and went to the line 28 times to NOP's 18 — 18 points from the stripe to their 11. HOU turned it over 22 times to NOP's 13, and NOP turned those into 16 steals. Thompson led with 22 (9 of 13, 1 of 3 from three); Sengun added 20, Whitmore 13. Q4 was theirs, 26-26, but the other 3 periods went 101-79 against them. VanVleet's -21 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/23 vs PHX 114-110 — HOU notes
HOU won 114-110. HOU shot 40% (37 of 93) to PHX's 40%, 15 of 45 from three. VanVleet led with 23 (7 of 15, 6 of 14 from three); Smith Jr. added 22, Sengun 17. The hinge was Q2, 37-24: HOU came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 5.
2/25 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 117, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Sengun at 18 and Thompson at 15 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 128 a night and allowing 117, shooting 52 percent and 44 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 44 percent from three to Houston's 34 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-2 a night and OKC minus-4. Call it OKC 118, Houston 115, Houston keeping it close.
2/27 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 110, shooting 54 percent and 47 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. One day's rest. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 117, shooting 42 percent and 35 from three, 29 free throws a game; Sengun at 19 and VanVleet at 17 a game. Without Tate (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 47 percent from three to Houston's 35 and the line, where Houston takes 29 free throws a game to OKC's 21. Call it OKC 122, Houston 110, OKC by 12.
2/29 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 32 free throws a game; Durant at 25 and Booker at 23 a game. Without Beal (4 straight). 3 days' rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 119, shooting 41 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Sengun at 20 and Smith Jr. at 15 a game. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the line, where Phoenix takes 32 free throws a game to Houston's 26 and the arc, Phoenix at 37 percent from three to Houston's 33. Call it Phoenix 118, Houston 111.
3/02 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 32 free throws a game; Booker at 25 and Durant at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Beal (5 straight), Gordon (2 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 116, shooting 39 percent and 31 from three, 27 free throws a game; Sengun at 17 and Ja. Green at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-4 a night and Houston minus-1 and the arc, Phoenix at 35 percent from three to Houston's 31. Call it Phoenix 117, Houston 109.
2/10 @ GSW 112-113 — PHX notes
PHX lost 112-113. PHX shot 46% (43 of 94) to GSW's 45%, 11 of 34 from three. The glass went 42-52 against them. Booker led with 32 (11 of 21, 2 of 8 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Durant added 24, Beal 15. Q2 was theirs, 30-26, the deficit cut from 5 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 87-82 against them.
2/13 vs SAC 130-125 — PHX notes
PHX won 130-125. PHX shot 52% (44 of 85) to SAC's 52%, 13 of 31 from three, and went to the line 36 times to SAC's 24 — 29 points from the stripe to their 18. The glass went 39-50 against them. Durant led with 28 (11 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Booker added 25, Gordon 23. The hinge was Q3, 30-25: PHX came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 2. PHX trailed 64-67 at the half and won the second half 66-58. O'Neale was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
2/14 vs DET 116-100 — PHX notes
PHX won 116-100. PHX shot 45% (35 of 77) to DET's 38%, 10 of 31 from three, and went to the line 44 times to DET's 22 — 36 points from the stripe to their 14. Durant led with 25 (8 of 13, 1 of 3 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Lee added 16, Gordon 13. The hinge was Q2, 33-16: a lead of 12 became 29, and the lead reached 35. O'Neale was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
2/22 @ DAL 113-123 — PHX notes
PHX lost 113-123. PHX shot 48% (40 of 83) to DAL's 48%, 15 of 36 from three. PHX turned it over 16 times to DAL's 10, and DAL turned those into 10 steals. Booker led with 35 (13 of 21, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Durant added 23, Gordon 16. Q2 was theirs, 30-28, but the other 3 periods went 95-83 against them. They led by as many as 11. Okogie's -15 in 18 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/23 @ HOU 110-114 — PHX notes
PHX lost 110-114. PHX shot 40% (38 of 95) to HOU's 40%, 7 of 31 from three. Durant led with 28 (10 of 22, 1 of 7 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Booker added 25, Bol 25. Q4 was theirs, 34-25, the deficit cut from 13 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 89-76 against them. They led by as many as 16. O'Neale's -23 in 17 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/25 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 31 free throws a game; Durant at 26 and Booker at 25 a game. Without Beal (3 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 120, shooting 53 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Davis at 26 and James at 25 a game. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Reddish (13 straight), Vanderbilt (8 straight), Vincent (30 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 15 times a game to the Lakers' 11 and the arc, the Lakers at 40 percent from three to Phoenix's 34. Call it Phoenix 119, the Lakers 117, the Lakers keeping it close.
2/29 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 32 free throws a game; Durant at 25 and Booker at 23 a game. Without Beal (4 straight). 3 days' rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 119, shooting 41 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Sengun at 20 and Smith Jr. at 15 a game. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the line, where Phoenix takes 32 free throws a game to Houston's 26 and the arc, Phoenix at 37 percent from three to Houston's 33. Call it Phoenix 118, Houston 111.
3/02 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 32 free throws a game; Booker at 25 and Durant at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Beal (5 straight), Gordon (2 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 116, shooting 39 percent and 31 from three, 27 free throws a game; Sengun at 17 and Ja. Green at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-4 a night and Houston minus-1 and the arc, Phoenix at 35 percent from three to Houston's 31. Call it Phoenix 117, Houston 109.
3/03 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 29 free throws a game; Booker at 28 and Durant at 25 a game. Without Gordon (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 110, shooting 52 percent and 43 from three, 19 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Holmgren at 22 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 43 percent from three to Phoenix's 35 and the line, where Phoenix takes 29 free throws a game to OKC's 19. Call it OKC 118, Phoenix 114, Phoenix keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Bol
DB D. Booker
DE D. Eubanks
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
JO J. Okogie
KD K. Durant
RO R. O'Neale
TY T. Young
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JS J. Smith Jr.
JG Ja. Green
JG Je. Green
PHX/HOU the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr. help Rockets hold off Suns, 114-110
HOUSTON -- — Fred VanVleet scored 23 points, Jabari Smith Jr. had 22 points and 16 rebounds and the Houston Rockets withstood Phoenix's late surge to beat the Suns 114-110 on Friday night.
“There’s a lot of different ways to win in the NBA and we’re finding that out and learning that as a group and tonight was a good night for us,” VanVleet said.
Kevin Durant had 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Phoenix, coming off a loss in Dallas the night before. Fellow All-Star Devin Booker added 25 points and Bol Bol had season highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds.
Durant moved past Carmelo Anthony (28,289) into ninth place on the NBA scoring list with 28,296 points.
“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,” Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said.
Phoenix was without starters Bradley Beal , who missed a third straight game with tightness in his left hamstring, and Jusuf Nurkic , who has a sprained right ankle.
Vogel wouldn't blame being short-handed for Phoenix's inability to make plays late.
“We were not playing a good basketball game,” he said. “We came out strong in the first quarter … but didn’t sustain it.”
Houston led by double-digits to start the fourth, but the Suns took the lead with about five minutes to go.
The Rockets regained the lead soon after that and rookie Amen Thompson made 1 of 2 free throws for Houston to make it 110-108 with 17 seconds to go, but the Suns knocked the ball out of bounds fighting for the rebound on the miss. Smith made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 111-108 with nine seconds remaining.
Booker made two free throws to get the Suns within one again with seven seconds left. This time, Smith made both free throws to leave Houston up 113-110.
Smith then intentionally fouled Durant and his first shot rolled in and out of the basket before the Suns were called for a lane violation on the second attempt.
VanVleet missed a free throw with four second left, but Houston got the rebound. Alperen Sengun made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 114-110 and seal the victory.
“I think the execution was decent,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “We like to get it to specific guys for the foul shots and we couldn't quite get it to Fred sometimes. But other guys stepped up and made them.”
Phoenix trailed by 13 to start the fourth and was down by 10 before going on a 12-2 run to tie it at 96. Bol, who had made just four 3-pointers all season, made two in that stretch to help the Suns close the gap.
Vogel raved about the performance of Bol, who came a point and a rebound shy of matching his career bests in both categories.
“He was great,” Vogel said. “There’s no other way to put it. We’re trying to find the right environments where he can thrive. He came in and took advantage of his minutes. He just made play after play after play.”