Rockets' run, Durant milestone, Bol's big night: Takeaways from Suns' loss at Rockets

HOUSTON — The Phoenix Suns are trending downward coming out of the NBA All-Star break, losing 114-110 Friday to Houston in the second of a road back-to-back after falling Thursday at Dallas.

The Suns once again struggled in the third quarter. Dallas opened the second half on a 16-0 run in building a 13-point lead. Twenty-four hours later, Houston outscored them, 32-24, in the third in taking a 89-76 lead going into the fourth before a sellout crowd of 18,055 at Toyota Center.

The Rockets put themselves that position with a 24-3 run in the second quarter to go up 57-49 with 29.8 seconds left before Grayson Allen answered with a three to make the difference five at the half.

Phoenix (33-24) has fallen from fifth in the West coming out of the break to eighth after blowing a 16-point lead in the first half Friday. Kevin Durant paced the Suns with 28 points in passing Carmelo Anthony for ninth on the NBA all-time scoring list. Durant has 28,296 points to Anthony's 28,289.

Up next? Shaquille O'Neal, who is eighth with 28,596.

Here are takeaways from Phoenix's loss, in which Devin Booker scored 25 points as did Bol Bol in falling one point short of tying his career high. Shooting 11-of-17 from the floor, the 7-footer added 14 rebounds, one shy of tying a career high.

Fred VanVleet paced the Rockets (25-31) with 23 points while Jabari Smith Jr. posted a double-double of 22 points and 16 rebounds. This was the second of a back-to-back for both teams as they face each other two more times next week in Phoenix.

Rebounding once again dooms Suns

The Suns are 26^th in the league in giving up offensive rebounds and 22^nd in second-chance points allowed. Both issues reared their ugly heads again Friday.

The Suns gave up 23 second-chance points and 17 offensive rebounds to the Rockets.

Again. Downfall.

The Suns failed to defend their backboard at the most critical time down two with 17 seconds left. Rockets rookie Amen Thompson, 63.2% free throw shooter, missed the second of two free throws, but Alperen Sengun nestled between two Suns and gathered the offensive board.

Probably shouldn't have looked to score, but ended up retrieving the ball. Kevin Durant blocked the put back, but Houston maintained possession after Eric Gordon lost the ball out of bounds.

If Phoenix gets the initial miss of Thompson's free throw, the deficit is just two. The Suns instead fell behind three after Jabari Smith split two free throws with 9.1 seconds left. Houston was able to play the foul game the rest of the way in securing the win.

There was no Jusuf Nurkic due to an ankle sprain suffered in Wednesday's practice he tried to play through Thursday, but rebounding has been a season-long issue.

Suns coach Frank Vogel had said the Suns need to improve in controlling the turnovers and rebounding. This is after giving up 29 points off 16 turnovers against Dallas.

The Suns had just 10 turnovers that Houston converted into just 13 points. They improved there, but once again struggled to control the glass.

Bradley Beal sorely needed

Suns star guard Bradley Beal has missed 27 games with multiple injuries with a left hamstring injury that’s sidelined him Phoenix’s last three games. He’s not only a proven scorer, but Beal can initiate offense for himself and teammates. His ability to get into the lane and score off the bounce helps keep the defense honest in defending the paint, which can draw the defense off shooters.

Beyond that, without Beal, Booker and Durant together they are getting blitzed even more when having the ball up top. The Suns countered that with posting up Durant and having other guys bring the ball up like Gordon so Booker can play off the ball, but the Suns need that third scorer.

Booker (7-of-24) and Durant (10-of-22) both had poor shooting nights. Durant nearly had a triple double as he grabbed 11 boards and had eight assists, Booker got 11 free throw attempts, made them all, but they were a combined 1-of-11 from 3 on a night Phoenix shot 7-of-21 from deep.

Allen and Gordon get theirs off the Big 3. The Suns tend go iso when they’ve gone a minute without getting a bucket. Beal just helps relieve Booker and Durant having to consistently create offense.

Suns assistant John Lucas III put Beal through a lengthy workout before the game. If his hamstring responds to the workout well, expect Beal to play Sunday afternoon against the Lakers in Phoenix.

The Suns are 14-8 with the Big 3 in the lineup.

Bol Bol nearly saved the day

Bol was huffing, puffing and having one of the best games of his career.

With Booker and Durant misfiring and Nurkic and Beal in street clothes, the Suns need a spark to stay in the game against the youthful Rockets.

Royce O’Neale couldn’t find the touch — 0-for-5 from the field (0-for-4 from 3). Thaddeus Young grabbed eight rebounds in his Suns debut with six coming on the offensive glass, but he’s not scorer anyway.

Allen only got off nine shots in scoring 15 points while Gordon shot 2-of-8 (1-of-5 from 3) for five points in starting for Beal. Drew Eubanks managed nine points and five boards in getting the start for Nurkic, but without Bol, the Suns get run off the floor.

They were already failing to get back in transition in the first half in losing that 16-point lead. Lacked energy once again, but Bol was making it happen — outside of not being on the court to begin the second quarter, which resulted in Phoenix drawing a technical foul for having just four players out there.

Bol isn’t going to start averaging 20 points a night, but this shows what he can do when playing free and confident. He’s still loose with the ball in traffic at times, but Bol was in a full bag Friday with the 3 (2-of-3), the inside scoring and board work (six offensive rebounds).

His play is forcing the Suns coaches to figure out the best lineups for him to make an impact because Bol is showing the ability to play the right way in terms taking good shots.

That’s been a real issue for him throughout his career in that he takes bad shots. He was mostly in the paint, finding the open holes for dunks and short-range twos Friday, but the biggest thing was his effort.

Bol played hard. Really hard to the point Vogel took him out late when he really didn't want to do so. If Bol can deliver the effort and energy, play within himself and the system, his talent will shine and he'll continue to force Vogel to consider playing him even after adding veterans Thaddeus Young and O'Neale.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Takeaways from Suns' loss at Rockets: Rebounding woes, Bol nearly saves day