Kevin Durant's inexcusable effort on final play must ignite a Rockets change

The Rockets lost their second straight game on Saturday night in a 3-point defeat in Phoenix as the Suns got an open runout with no opposition to run out the clock. Kevin Durant had just missed a 3-pointer to tie the game, then made no effort to foul as the Suns dribbled the ball past him and ended the game. Durant's poor effort was representative of the Rockets as a whole in the game, who had multiple lapses and didn't bring the same intensity they've shown so far this season.

The Rockets were missing their extra spark

Houston has seen some up-and-down offensive performances to start the season, which is normal considering the youth of most rotation players outside of Durant and Fred VanVleet. However, the Rockets actually got solid offensive aggression from their young stars against the Suns; it was the defense where that effort often didn't show up in the same way.

Whether it was allowing too many easy layups early to Jalen Green or later losing track of shooters like Luke Kennard and Devin Booker, the Rockets defense made some uncharacteristic mistakes that eventually cost them the game. For a team that always prides itself on defense, Houston often looked out of sorts on Saturday night.

Ironically, the Rockets even got themselves back into the game through their defense, then lost their added intensity again. In the second quarter, they found themselves down by 18 points and stormed back with a 20-2 run over a 6-minute span. Holding the Suns to just 2 points during that time was very impressive and built off exceptional defensive effort; unfortuantely that same level of intensity didn't show up in the second half.

Kevin Durant hurt the Rockets with his output

It was a generally rough game for Durant, who finished with 21 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field. His effort has been called into question before this season, but his defense has actually been pretty solid. For most of the game, he was solid defensively against the Suns too. He had his fair share of troubles guarding Devin Booker when switched onto him, but so did every other Rocket.

However, on the game's last play, Durant seemed to completely accept defeat after he missed his game-tying attempt and the Suns recovered the ball. There were still 5 seconds left as Dillon Brooks crossed halfcourt in front of Durant, but he was allowed to get by unimpeded. The Suns didn't even have to make their free throws in the end to pull out the win.

Durant isn't the only one to blame, as other Rockets were in better position to stop the clock as his miss was first being rebounded. But his obvious leasurely trot towards Brooks with the clock winding down stuck out like a sore thumb and left a bad taste from this loss.

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