The Phoenix Suns (33-23, 7th in Western Conference) close a two-game road trip tonight against the Houston Rockets (24-31, 12th in Western Conference), looking to bounce back from a tough loss yesterday to the Dallas Mavericks. This will be the second night of a back-to-back for both teams.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In the last meeting between these two teams on Dec. 27 in Houston, Kevin Durant tied a career high in assists (16) and recorded his first and only triple-double so far with the Suns, while Eric Gordon had a season-high 27 points to propel the Suns to a dominant 129-113 win.
Without Beal last night, the Suns lost 123-113 to the Mavericks, as both Luka Doncic (41 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists) and Kyrie Irving (29 points and five rebounds) went off to win the season series 2-1 and drop the Suns two full seeds in the Western Conference standings. Devin Booker had 35 points and eight assists in the loss.
The Rockets were blown out 127-105 by the New Orleans Pelicans last night, meaning all of their starters played 30 or less minutes, so they won’t be as tired as the Suns tonight. Alperen Sengun totaled 20 points and nine rebounds for Houston, while Amen Thompson had 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting off the bench.
Since their last matchup, the Suns are tied for the fourth-best record in the NBA at 18-8, while the Rockets are 9-17, 23rd in the NBA. The two teams face each other three times in the next eight days, as the Rockets play in Phoenix next Thursday (Feb. 29) and Saturday (March 2).
Local Game Information
Start Time: 6:00 p.m. MST
Location: Toyota Center
TV Channel: 3TV/AZ Family
Radio:Â Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Mejor 106.5 FM
Stream:Â Suns Live (click for more info)
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) February 23, 2024
Betting Odds
Line: PHX -3.5
O/U:Â 230.5
Injury Report
Phoenix Suns: Bradley Beal (left hamstring tightness) DOUBTFUL | Jusuf Nurkić (right ankle sprain) DOUBTFUL | Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) OUT
Houston Rockets:Â Tari Eason (left lower leg injury management) OUT | Steven Adams (right knee PCL surgery) OUT
Starters (Projected)
Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker, Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen, Kevin Durant, Drew Eubanks
Houston Rockets:Â Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun
Five Keys to Game for Suns
- Playing with more pace
- Realizing they can’t afford losses in games they should win with how tough schedule is
- Limit offensive rebounds
- Reduce turnovers
- Don’t squander big leads
Prediction
Suns 114 – Rockets 108
The Suns are 0-3 when Nurkić doesn’t play this season, but I think they can flip that script tonight because the Rockets have not been playing well, and the Suns have figured out how to play decently well when Nurkić isn’t on the floor. This will likely be the first time Thaddeus Young will play, so we will see how he does. I think the Suns have the mindset they have to win games at this point, and they should do that against lesser opponents. The Rockets can be a good defensive team and will be hungry coming off a blowout loss. The Suns struggled when the Mavericks switched up their defensive coverages last night, so we will see what impact that has tonight. I think it will make it a closer game, but Durant and Booker should still play well and lead the Suns to victory.
Last Meeting (Dec. 27, 2023)
Phoenix Suns snap 3-game losing streak with 129-113 win over Rockets
Team Matchup Notes
Here are some stats, notes and everything else to know about the Suns and Rockets before their second matchup of the season (via Suns):
Each team’s stats (via Suns):
Preview: Injury report
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
