Dillon Brooks didn’t waste the chance to take a shot after the Suns handled the Rockets and Kevin Durant had a rough night against his former team.
Durant finished Saturday’s game 5-of-14 from the field, though he still got to 21 points by knocking down 10 of 11 free throws. A lot of his scoring came at the line, and Alperen Sengun had a similar kind of night, fighting through a tough shooting performance on his way to 15 points.
The backdrop made the matchup even sharper. Durant has spent the past year trading jabs with Phoenix, and that tension picked up again before the season when Suns owner Mat Ishbia told CNBC he regretted the Durant trade. Durant fired back on X, and the back-and-forth kept rolling while Ishbia stayed above it.
Brooks, who has a long history of going at Durant and was traded for him in the summer of 2025, seemed to lean right into that energy. After the game, he framed the Suns’ defensive effort around the team’s identity and slipped in a pointed nod to the owner.
"That’s our culture. We play hard, we play together, and we try to challenge ourselves to do great. So shout out to Mat," Brooks said about the defense they played against Durant and Sengun.
It was the kind of line Brooks knows will land with a little extra bite. He made sure to get a dig in there, and he clearly wasn’t trying to let Durant walk away without another reminder that the Suns were ready for the moment.
In Other News...
Booker And Green Just Gave Suns Fans A New Reason To Believe
The Suns got a much-needed lift at PHX Arena, edging the Rockets 102-99 in a game that felt important well beyond the final margin. Devin Booker led Phoenix with 24 points, and Jalen Green added 16 as the Suns found just enough offense to keep pace with a Houston team that had been rolling early.
Kevin Durant finished with 21 points for the Rockets, but Houston still walked out at 7-3 while Phoenix moved to 3-5. For a Suns team looking for any sign of traction, this was the kind of win that can steady a locker room and give the fan base something to hold onto as the season keeps taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Already Face A Tough Booker Decision With Starters Struggling
The early-season numbers have only sharpened the questions around Phoenixs starting group, and Devin Booker is right in the middle of them. At 3-5, the Suns are still trying to sort out what this roster is supposed to look like, while the current first unit has struggled to find any real rhythm on either end. Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Booker have all posted rough net plus-minus marks, a sign that the fit has been clunky even before the deeper issues of size, defense and the absence of a true power forward come into focus.
For the Suns, the dilemma is less about identifying the problem than deciding which fix is least disruptive. Standing pat risks letting the same issues linger, but changing the starting lineup could create new ones, and any trade path brings its own complications with players such as Green or Bridges. Bookers role only makes the decision more delicate, because whatever Phoenix does next will say a lot about how aggressively it wants to chase a cleaner balance around its star guard. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Face Early Test Against A Suns Team With Something To Prove
The Suns head into their matchup with Houston carrying the same starting five they used in their previous game, a sign of continuity at a time when both teams are trying to work around key injuries. Phoenix has already had to adjust its rotation early, and the Rockets arrive with their own lineup questions, making this one of those early-season games where depth and adaptability matter as much as star power.
Miles Bridges and coach Jordan Ott both pointed to the challenge Houston presents, which is no surprise for a Suns group trying to establish an identity while dealing with absences. For Phoenix, the bigger picture is about proving it can stay organized and competitive even when the roster is not at full strength, and this meeting offers another quick chance to show how far that approach can carry them. [Read more 🡒]