Bol Bol scores 25 points off the bench but Suns fall short against Rockets

HOUSTON (3TV/CBS 5) — Bol Bol provided a spark off the bench with 25 points for the Phoenix Suns, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Houston Rockets’ barrage of 3s on Friday night.

Phoenix trailed by 13 in the fourth quarter and took the lead with 5:13 left but couldn’t hold on. The Suns have now lost two straight.

Bol shot 11-17 in more than 26 minutes of playing team, and he had 14 rebounds, one steal and one block. Devin Booker had a forgettable shooting night, going 7-24 for 25 points. Kevin Durant was 1-7 from 3 and finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Durant hit two free throws to cut the Rockets lead to 109-108 with 18.3 seconds left and Amen Thompson was then fouled. He made the first but missed the second. But Alperen Sengun got the offensive rebound for the Rockets. He missed a layup, got his own rebound, and then was blocked by Durant, but Houston still got the ball. Jabari Smith Jr. was then fouled. He made one of two for a 111-108 lead. Phoenix then went back and forth with free throws and ran out of time.

The Rockets were up 94-84 with 9:29 left in the game before the Suns went on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 96, capped off by Bol making a 27-foot three-pointer. The Suns eventually got their first lead of the quarter, 100-98, after Bol made a floating jumper. But the Rockets answered with seven straight points. It was then a battle of free throws.

After Phoenix turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, they had zero turnovers in the second half. The Suns, as a team, only shot 7-31 from beyond the arc.

Fred VanVLeet led the way for the Rockets with 23 points, including 6-14 from 3, and five rebounds and five assists. Smith Jr. added 22 points, and Sengun had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

After an offensive rebound from Jabari Smith Jr., Fred VanVLeet nailed a three-pointer to push the Rockets’ lead to 13, 72-59 with 7:40 left in the third quarter. Their lead would eventually hit 14, their highest of the game.

The Suns pushed their lead to 46-33 with 4:56 left in the second quarter. But that’s when the Rockets ended the quarter on a 24-6 run, thanks partly to three-straight made 3s.

The Rockets made 11 3s in the first half, while the Suns shot 3-17 from beyond the arc. Phoenix went into the half down by five, 57-52. Booker shot only 5-15 from the field during the first two quarters.

Despite the second game of a back-to-back, the Suns came out energized out of the game. They went on a 22-6 run at the start of the first quarter. That was their biggest lead of the game. It didn’t last long as the Rockets went on a 12-2 to get back in the game.

The Suns head back home on Sunday to take on the Los Angeles Lakers.

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