Houston Rockets vs. Phoenix Suns recap: Dominating effort all-around

The Rockets dismantled the Suns tonight to the tune of a 26 point victory.

The Rockets (12-4) took over the top spot in the Western Conference after an incredible offensive explosion against the Suns (5-11). Houston ended up winning 142-116 and dropped NINETY points in the 1st half.

Let’s take a look at the stats:

The Stats

James Harden: 48 points (12-22 FG, 18/18 FT, 6/11 3PT), 7 assists, 2 steals

Chris Paul: 11 points, 10 assists, 21 minutes played

Ryan Anderson: 24 points (6/10 3PT)

Zhou Qi: 8 minutes, 3 blocks

Recap

The Rockets as a team shot 48% from the 3-point line (21/44) and 92% from the free throw line (35/38). They dropped 45 points in the first two quarters, 30 in the third & 22 in the fourth.

James Harden had another game that shows why he is the favorite for MVP. Congrats to Jose Altuve of the Astros, by the way. The Beard also went 18-18 from the free throw line and has hit his past 40.

Chris Paul returned from injury and had a solid double-double in just 21 minutes. He should fit in quite nicely!

Clint Capela played a decent game and had a double-double as well (12p, 10r) but was bullied a bit by the offensively-talented Greg Monroe, who had 20.

Overall, the defense was not fantastic for Houston and Chris Paul pointed that out post game. When the stakes are a little higher, I’m sure that the defense will tighten up.