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Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press
PHOENIX — When an altercation erupted in the first half Sunday between the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns, it was no surprise Dillon Brooks was at the center.
Brooks led the NBA in technical fouls in each of the last two seasons and has a well-earned reputation as an agitator. His toughness is why Houston acquired him from Memphis in a trade last offseason, and his hard-nosed defense has rubbed off on the rest of the Rockets.
Against the Suns, Brooks was ejected in the second quarter and had to be held back from going at the official after he received two technical fouls. When tempers cooled and the game finally resumed, the Rockets stayed hot.
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The Rockets rode a 78-point first half to their highest scoring game of the season, a 148-109 rout of the Suns on Sunday night at PHX Arena. The playoff-bound Rockets completed a three-game series sweep of the Suns, who are fighting to climb out of 11th place in the West and qualify for the NBA play-in tournament.
“Everybody said at halftime when they came in, they all thanked Dillon for sparking us tonight,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Don’t like to get ejected, obviously, but you’ve seen it throughout my two years here that those do ignite us, and our guys get more engaged and locked in.”
In more bad news for Phoenix, Suns star Kevin Durant exited the game with a left ankle sprain in the third quarter and did not return.
Houston has won 12 of its last 13 games and is the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with seven games remaining in the regular season.
“I think just the togetherness,” Rockets guard Jalen Green said when asked about the team’s recent performance. “We know what we got to come out here and do every night. The game’s not gonna be easy, but if we stick with each other, know what we got to do, execute the game plan, we give ourselves a shot every night. I think that’s what it is, and we just come out and play hard and being ourselves.”
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Green overcame a shaky opening quarter and led the Rockets in scoring with 33 points. Amen Thompson fell just short of a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, while Alperen Şengün had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 28 points. Durant was the home team’s next highest scorer with 11 points in 23 minutes.
The Rockets were already starting to press the gas pedal up by double digits with five minutes left in the first half when further motivation arrived. After Brooks was whistled for a common foul on Durant, the two players got tangled up and Durant shoved Brooks, who then exchanged words with Suns center Nick Richards. Durant and Richards each received a technical foul, but Brooks received two and an automatic ejection.
Udoka said when Brooks received his first technical for getting into it with Richards, the official did not clearly indicate it was a double technical foul and that caused Brooks to get even more upset, with his reaction leading to a second technical.
“The reason he reacted that way is because they only pointed him instead of saying the double, and so he thought it was just on him,” Udoka said. “That’s where I felt they were wrong, that you have to clearly make it a double and he maybe doesn’t react the way he does. But that was the explanation I got, was he reacted that way. I told (the official) why.”
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Brooks had already left the locker room after the game when reporters entered. He now has 15 technical fouls on the season, one away from triggering an automatic one-game suspension.
“That wasn’t two technical fouls, in my opinion,” Şengün said before joking, “I guess (Brooks) just wants to rest for tomorrow.”
Scuffles do seem to ignite the Rockets. In the previous game against the Suns, a tussle between Steven Adams and Mason Plumlee that saw both players ejected was followed by a Rockets run.
“I feel like we’re already dogs as it is, so unless you just give us a reason, we’re all gonna turn it up,” Green said. “Somebody gonna turn it up for this situation. I think it’s good that we locked in. I think the defense was the best part of it, getting stops and being able to run out in transition. I feel like that’s when we’re at our best.”
Two minutes after Brooks’ ejection, Green stole the ball from Booker and knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer, prompting the Suns to call a timeout with the Rockets up 23 points and on a 10-4 run.
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Houston racked up 46 points, its highest-scoring second quarter of the season, and grew its lead from 17 at the time of Brooks’ ejection to 29 points at halftime. The Rockets’ 78 points were tied for their most in a half this season.
None of the Rockets’ starters played in the fourth quarter or exceeded 30 minutes, rest that will be crucial when Houston plays the second half of a back-to-back Monday night against the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Rockets forward Tari Eason will be available against the Lakers after he sat out Sunday’s game and Udoka said Adams, who usually doesn’t play both halves of a back-to-back, will probably play Monday after he played just 12 first-half minutes against the Suns.
Just as they did in the first two games against the Suns, the Rockets capitalized on live-ball turnovers and rebounds. Houston outscored Phoenix 32-8 in fast-break points and 25-19 in second-chance points.
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After shooting 31.3% behind the arc in the first two games against the Suns, the Rockets made 18 3-pointers and shot 58.1% from deep Sunday. Phoenix crowded Şengün in the paint and Houston responded by kicking out passes and dishing a season-high 37 assists.
“We know what it is — just coming close to the playoffs now and there’s not many games left, and the teams’ records is really close to each other,” Şengün said. “So we’re just trying to go over there and play hard as we can.”
By the start of the fourth quarter, Houston had five players in double figures and led 112-73. Rockets rookie Reed Sheppard played in his first game since returning from a broken thumb and ran point for a bench unit that turned the final 12 minutes into a dunk contest and a layup line.
With fewer than a minute-and-a-half remaining, Cam Whitmore’s third dunk cemented the game as Houston’s highest scoring of the season. The Rockets’ bench combined to score 66 points, a season high.
“I always feel we’re at our best when we can come and our starters do well, and then the bench comes in and contributes and it’s kind of equal opportunity,” Udoka said. “And that’s what it was tonight.”
