Kevin Durant hits a cool 3 to win the game against the Suns
The The Houston Rockets will be without Alperen Sengun at least two weeks with an ankle injury, which makes these next few games even more important in their bid to maintain their position in the Western Conference standings. What stood in their way on Monday night was a Phoenix Suns team that has been proving their doubters wrong all season. That The Suns team is also coming off a big win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, so they’re no strangers to slaying some giants.
But Kevin Durant he wasn’t about to let his former team clown him, not on his home turf.
With the score tied at 97 apiece, the Rockets had 5.5 seconds left to regain the lead from the Suns. And even without Sengun, Houston now has the luxury of going to Durant, one of the greatest players in league history, to try to win the game.
That’s exactly what they did. Durant found isolated behind the three-point line against Royce O’Neal and hit a 3-pointer right into his own basket to give Houston a 100-97 lead with a few tenths of a second left in regulation.
KEVIN DURANT WINS FOR THE ROCKET 🤩 pic.twitter.com/25PFneeTlH
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 6, 2026
The Suns still had a chance to send the game into overtime, but another former Sun in Josh Okogie intercepted an offensive pass to seal the win for the Rockets. Durant finished the night with 26 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Kevin Durant, Rockets have enough gas to survive the Sun
The Suns have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season, if their performance on Sunday night is any indication. It looked like Phoenix would go on another characteristic late run to claim another narrow victory.
But the Rockets did enough, especially on the glass, to outlast the Suns in a battle between two strong Western playoff teams. The win moves Houston to 21-11 on the season, which currently puts them in fifth place in the West.
2026-01-06 03:45:00
