Jalen Green #4 of the Houston Rockets competes at the Toyota Center on November 2, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
Jalen Green scored 30 points and reserve center back Bruno Fernando marked his return in the fourth quarter as the Houston Rockets won 122-121 against hosts Phoenix Suns on Friday.
Green took one of two free throws with 28.8 seconds left before the Rockets survived the final frantic seconds, while the Suns missed four in a lengthy final possession. Devin Booker, who scored the highest 41 in the game, misfired twice, including a 16-foot shot at the whistle.
Houston broke the Suns’ six-game winning streak by turning the score 14-2 early in the fourth half into a 106-106 stalemate. Fernando, who scored 10 points and 5 rebounds in the final inning, ran rough in the paint as the Rockets shot 13 of 19 in the fourth inning.
Jabari Smith Jr. added 17 points and Kevin Porter Jr. had 15 points, six goals and seven assists for the Rockets, who received a crucial 3-point corner from Eric Gordon, making it 118-113.
Jalen Green led the Rockets to W tonight with 30 points pic.twitter.com/dkjZAuY7aS
– NBA (@NBA) December 3, 2022
Booker and Cameron Payne (20 points, 12 assists) lifted Phoenix back even after scoring just 3 but both missed, along with Mikal Bridges (22 points, 8 rebounds), stunning runs hope after Green gave the Rockets the lead with a successful 12th free throw.
Rising seven hours after the break, the Sun rushes out of the gate in the third quarter. When Payne went into a float with 3:59 left in that span, Phoenix led the game by 89-73.
Green scored 20 points shooting 6 to 10 in the third quarter, scoring 8 points in the 13-5 rally that helped the Rockets cut a 16-point deficit in half. But when Booker sank a tough baseline before the whistle blew, the Suns had a 96-86 lead going into the fourth inning.
Booker and Bridges combined 35 points in the first half when shooting 14/21. Phoenix shot 54.5% in the half, including 50% (10 of 20) from 3-pointers. The Rockets made 39.1% from the floor before the break and were 3 out of 15 from the long haul.
The Suns took a 64-57 lead in the break despite nine innings.
Overall for the night, Phoenix made 52.9% from the field and 17 out of 37 (45.9%) from the 3-point range. Houston has a rate of 49.4% when scoring and 33.3% (8 out of 24) when scoring 3 points.
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