The Rockets trade turned a corner
The turning point in Russell Westbrook's career may be to go to the Houston Rockets, before that, he was the team boss, the MVP of the league, and the well-deserved All-Star, but after going to the Rockets, he became a team cancer, a year later to the Wizards, and then to the Lakers. As for Chris Paul, the turning point in his career was also that trade. He went to the Thunder, brought a team that decided to be broken, into the playoffs, and then to the Suns, bringing the team back to the Stage of the Finals.
Paul proved himself when he was with the Rockets, but there was still a lot of gossip at that time, and it wasn't until he left the Rockets that people really recognized Paul's value to the team. This game, Paul will be at home to meet the challenge of the Houston Rockets. Today, the Suns are at number one in the league, while the Rockets are number one from the bottom.
Paul was expelled
Porter Jr. and Wood were absent from the game, and in this situation, Schroeder and Sague came to the starting lineup. At the beginning of the first quarter, Schroeder did not feel good, shooting 0 of 2, relying on free throws to get 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, but the leader Green ushered in an outbreak, 10 points on 3 of 4 shots, but also received 3 fouls. The Rockets shot down 32 points in a single quarter, while the Suns only scored 27 points, which probably no one would have thought, let alone expected that after returning from the second quarter of the game, the point difference continued to widen.
Paul went on second-quarter, scoring 7 points, 2 assists and 2 steals on 3-of-3 shooting, leading the team to 32 points in a single quarter, but the Rockets exploded for 35 points, including 7 points and 6 rebounds in Sagu and 8 points and 4 rebounds in Tate. At the end of halftime, the Rockets led the Suns by eight points at 67-59. In the second half, Paul complained that the penalty was expelled from the game, Booker and Ayton began to take over the game, Booker got 9 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, filling the data column, Ayton also had 12 points and 3 rebounds, and the Suns took 30 points in a single quarter, but Schroder finally broke out, 12 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists on 4-of-5 shooting, helping the Rockets continue to maintain a 6-point lead.
In the final quarter of the game, without Paul, Bridges stepped forward with a bench to continuously narrow the point difference, and the Suns once rebounded by 5 points, but Gordon hit a three-pointer, Sagu scored under the basket, Jaylen Green hit a key three-pointer, and the Rockets rebounded again. Cameron Johnson responded with three points, Bridges scored four straight points, Johnson made two free throws, Tate scored a layup, Crowder also made two free throws and one shot, Gordon scored a basket, the point difference is still 2 points. Booker made two free throws, Gordon hit another three-pointer, and Dengo was indeed worthy of the name.
However, Booker hit two more free throws, leaving only 2.1 seconds for the Rockets. Schroeder sent a three-point shot to Gordon, turned around and failed to hit, and finally the Phoenix Suns successfully reversed the Houston Rockets at home 124-121, winning seven consecutive games while giving the Rockets six consecutive losses.
Schroeder started stunningly
6 points in the first half, 17 points in the second half! Paul was expelled, and Schroeder finally proved himself. In this game, although the Rockets were reversed miserably, Schroeder proved himself, came to the starter, he came to the start, 7 of 16 shots, got 23 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists, only scored 6 points in the first half, and bombed 17 points in the second half, unfortunately, did not help the team end the losing streak. Gordon had 20 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Sague 19 points and 14 rebounds, Tate 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Green had 17 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
Paul played only 19 minutes before being expelled, failed to show the style of the king of the final quarter, only 11 points, 6 assists and 2 steals, Booker was 24 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, Ayton had 23 points and 9 rebounds, Bridges had 10 points and 3 rebounds in the final quarter, and 17 points and 7 rebounds, becoming the key to the team's reversal. Cameron Johnson on the bench also had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, Craig and Holliday and McGee all had nine points, and Crowder also had eight points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals.