In Phoenix, the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns will once again face off in a two-game series kicking off on Thursday evening.

The two teams will also clash on Saturday in the arid desert, marking their third encounter in a nine-day span. Last Friday, the Rockets secured a 114-110 victory against the Suns on home turf.

Fred VanVleet led the scoring with 23 points for Houston, supported by Jabari Smith Jr. with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant dominated for Phoenix with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.

This defeat marked Phoenix’s second consecutive loss, but they managed to bounce back with a 123-113 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers at home on Sunday.

Grayson Allen led the way with 24 points for the Suns, complemented by Royce O’Neale who contributed 20 points and nine rebounds. Jusuf Nurkic had an exceptional performance with 18 points, matching his season-high of 22 rebounds and adding seven assists.

Nurkic mentioned that his motivation stemmed from recent fourth-quarter changes made by coach Frank Vogel that led to reduced playing time for him.

“Didn’t play a lot of fourth quarters these past couple weeks … ” Nurkic said. “I said, ‘Frank, I’m gonna keep it simple. I’m not going to give you a reason to sub me out.'”

Both Allen and O’Neale nailed six 3-pointers each. O’Neale matched his season-high in both points and successful treys.

Allen, who had not scored over 20 points in 16 consecutive games, finally broke the streak with a remarkable performance on Sunday. He strategically positions himself in the offense, knowing that Devin Booker and Durant lead the team.

“It’s a little bit of a feel, but a lot of it is that I understand our team goes where (Booker and Durant) go,” Allen said. “They’re going to lead us on both ends of the floor. So offensively, whatever shot-making I’m doing has to help the offense as a whole.”

Houston has faced difficulties recently, suffering defeats in eight of their last ten games. They need a significant turnaround to reposition themselves for a playoff spot in the highly competitive Western Conference.

Currently occupying the 12th spot in the Western Conference, the Rockets have just 24 games left to make a comeback.

Houston faced tough losses against the Oklahoma City Thunder in back-to-back games, falling 123-110 at home on Sunday and 112-95 on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

Jabari Smith Jr. averaged 19 points and 15 rebounds across these two matchups. In the game against Phoenix last Friday, he delivered 22 points and 16 rebounds, maintaining averages of 20 points and 15.3 rebounds over the past three games.

Alperen Sengun recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds against Oklahoma City on Tuesday, but the results left Rockets coach Ime Udoka feeling frustrated.

“They take away the pocket, obviously, and collapse and crowd, and you get a bunch of wide-open looks,” Udoka said. “You don’t make that stuff and it stresses everything else out and causes us to force it a little bit too much individually.

“So we love the looks we got — a lot of wide-open ones — and didn’t shoot it well at all. So, you’ve got to live with the shots but play better.”

Houston’s shooting percentages were low, with a 38.9% accuracy from the field and 9 of 39 from beyond the arc. VanVleet struggled, scoring only five points on 2-of-11 shooting.

The Rockets previously defeated the Suns this season with a 129-113 victory at home on Dec. 27. Sengun scored 24 points, while Jalen Green added 23 for Houston. Durant and Eric Gordon contributed 27 points each for Phoenix.

Gordon was absent due to a groin injury in the game against the Lakers.