Phoenix Suns lose Deandre Ayton, Cameron Payne in fifth straight loss, falling at Houston Rockets
HOUSTON – That may go down as one of the worst second quarters in Phoenix Suns history.
Not only did they score just 15 points on a morbid 3-of-24 shooting, going a disastrous 1-of-14 from 3, but Deandre Ayton (left ankle) and Cameron Payne (right foot) each suffered injuries that kept them out of the second half.
"That's wild, I didn't even know that," Suns All-Star point guard Chris Paul about the shooting in the quarter.
Things only got worse.
Phoenix (16-12) trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half of 111-97 flop at Houston before 15,128 fans at Toyota Center that extended its season-long losing skid to five games in a row.
"Sometimes when it rains, it pours, man," Suns guard Landry Shamet said. "It's part of just professional sports in general. Mikal (Bridges) just said it, just weathering the storm. Got guys hurt. A couple of guys get hurt this game. Got a couple of guys back home on the road trip. Weather the storm, keep building, keep working on us. Focus on the things we can keep controlling. If we could control it, we'd make every shot."
The Rockets (9-18) have nine wins with two coming against Phoenix. Jalen Green led Houston with 26 points while Mikal Bridges paced the Suns with 18.
"We were here our first year (in 2019-20) when we went through a stretch like this and we just kept doing the next right thing," Suns coach Monty Williams said. "That's what we've got to do right now."
Williams didn't have an immediate update on Payne and Ayton, but Ayton is looking to return for Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers to conclude a four-game road trip.
"You know me, I'm trying to get back out there," said Ayton, who scored just five points Tuesday on 2-of-10 shooting.
Without injured All-Star Devin Booker (left hamstring tightness), the Suns shot a season-low 32%, going 13-of-51 from 3 for 25.5%, which nearly matched their season-low of 24.1%.
"The thing that I told our guys is you're going to have games like that," Williams said. "I thought we stayed competitive, we defended. A lot of our missed shots turned into fast break opportunities for them. We just didn't shoot a good percentage at all in the first half and that put us in a hole."
Down by as many as 23 with 3:36 left in the third quarter, the Suns cut the deficit to 11 points, 84-73, with 10:53 left in the fourth as Josh Okogie and Shamet each hit back-to-back 3s, forcing Rockets coach Stephen Silas to call a timeout.
Houston answered with a 7-2 burst.
Phoenix pulled within 11 again as Okogie and Shamet combined for five points on a 5-0 spurt and Bridges kept the deficit on a jumper with 7:31 remaining, but Houston went back up 16 following a three-point play by Garrison Mathews, who soared for an offensive rebounds and putback in flight and was fouled by Damion Lee.
"They played hard," Paul said. "They got to the free throw line a lot (31-of-34 FTs). They got a nice lead on us and we were fighting uphill all game. Give them credit. They played hard and beat us."
Phoenix finished 18-of-19 from the line as Williams once again talked about the Suns not getting calls when going to the basket as he pointed out Okogie getting slapped on a transition dunk.
"We just have to continue with how we play," Okogie said. "We've proven the way we play works. We just missed shots, but our defense, I felt like we played with a lot of intensity and effort."
Once atop the Western Conference after a season-best six-game winning streak, the Suns are 1-6 in their last seven games. They are now fourth in the conference.
"Stay the course," Paul said. "It's a long season. We're not even halfway through yet."
The Suns came into Tuesday’s game down Booker, Cam Johnson (knee) and Duane Washington Jr. (hip), who didn’t make the four-game road trip.
Phoenix started Shamet in place of Booker along with Torrey Craig, Paul, Bridges and Ayton. The starting five combined to shoot an atrocious 18-of-73 from the field, going 8-of-37 on 3s.
"I thought the lineup was decent, we just couldn't make the shot," Williams said. "Our shot quality, I haven't seen it yet, but I bet it was high. We got open 3 after open 3. We just couldn't make one."
Bridges shot a crash-and-burn season-low 16.6% from the field for the second time in four games. He went 2-of-12 against Boston and 4-of-24 at Houston.'
"Shots just weren't dropping," said Bridges as the 24 attempts is a career high. "Kept shooting it. Trying to trust my work. Just one of those nights."
"Shots just weren't dropping," Bridges said
To compound matters, Houston beat Phoenix on the offensive boards, grabbing 17 that led to 20 second-chance points. The Rockets won despite committing 23 turnovers that led to 26 Phoenix points.
Houston now has back-to-back wins over Milwaukee and Phoenix, two teams that made the playoffs last season and met in the 2021 finals the Bucks won in six.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ayton, Payne injured as Phoenix Suns lose fifth straight game
