A new season of sports
Stoudemire's jersey retirement ceremony did not bring good luck to the Suns, Beal was sent off the court, Booker left the game with an injury in the final moments, and the Suns had to lose after several unsuccessful chasing points. On March 3, 2024, Beijing time, the Phoenix Suns lost to the Houston Rockets 109-118. Durant had 30 points, nine rebounds and two assists, and Green had 34 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Now that the Suns are in fifth place in the West, they need to win more games to ensure that they can qualify for the playoffs. Against the Rockets, who are far inferior to themselves, the Suns clearly want to go all out to win. As for the Rockets, although they played a good performance at the beginning of the season, with the deepening of the schedule, the Rockets' ranking has dropped a lot, and now they have almost lost the hope of the play-offs. Although the performance of opening high and going low has cost the Rockets from the playoffs, for the Rockets, who are in the rebuilding period, this season has achieved some success. How to use the last period of the season to practice the lineup is also what the Rockets are most concerned about now.
In the face of the Suns, whose strength is much higher than their own, the Rockets were not timid, and attacked with all their might at the beginning of the game, and Green and VanVleet blossomed inside and out, tearing apart the Suns' defense with shots one after another. Although there are three giants on the Suns' side, the state of the three is not too good, but fortunately, Booker took the lead in finding the shooting touch, and the mid-range shooting was direct. After that, Durant also hit a three-pointer from the outside. It's just that the Rockets' counterattack was really efficient, and at one point the difference widened to double digits. The Suns didn't want to be won by the Rockets, and they quickly fought back, and after a 10-0 run, the Suns gradually closed the difference. After that, the Suns played small lineups in an attempt to increase the rotation speed of the ball. However, this tactic did not affect the Rockets, but the Rockets took advantage of the misalignment advantage to score points under the basket one after another, and after Green's three-point shot, the Rockets extended the lead to 9 points again.
During halftime, the Suns held a retirement ceremony for Stoudemire's No. 32 jersey, which became the highlight of the game. Durant became the Suns' offensive leader at the start of the third quarter, scoring eight points in a row. It's just that for the Suns, Nurkic's departure put the team's interior in crisis, and the Rockets took advantage of the Suns' ever-expanding defense to hit three-pointers one after another on the outside. Booker rushed to the basket on the counter and tried to force a shot, only to be covered by Shin Jing with both hands, and Green turned around and hit a three-pointer to extend the Rockets' lead to 15 points. Green got into an argument with Beal, and Beal was sent off straight out. O'Neal was a surprise player as he scored five straight points and then hit a three-pointer on the counter to help the Suns cut the deficit to four. The Rockets quickly adjusted their offensive mode, VanVleet hit a three-pointer, Brooks pulled a layup, and the Rockets extended the margin to 11 points again.
In the last matchup between the two teams, Booker and Whitmore had an altercation, and after Booker caused Whitmore's three-point defensive foul, Whitmore came back and caused Booker to make a defensive foul and hit two free throws. The Suns once again offered a small-ball strategy, O'Neal hit two three-pointers in a row with the help of Durant and others, and the cautious Udoka quickly called a timeout to adjust. Udoka's timeout didn't end the Suns' counterattack, as Durant's mid-range shot narrowed the gap to six points. Green missed a three-pointer, and Brooks grabbed the rebound and met Durant to score the ball. However, Booker twisted his ankle directly in the defense, and after getting up, he walked straight back to the locker room. Allen missed a three-pointer, and the Suns had lost hope of chasing points, and finally the Suns lost to the Rockets on the road.