In Melbet Affiliates discussions, the focus quickly shifted to how the Rockets would cope without Durant after a narrow loss to Denver and a three day break that brought more questions than answers. During that short pause, Durant left the team for personal family reasons, forcing coach Udoka to rethink his approach for a high tension road game against the Suns. His solution was bold but simple: insert Sheppard into the starting lineup in Durant’s place, and remove Adams so that Houston could lean on a one big, four small setup built around speed, switching, and constant movement.
The Rockets had every reason to trust this adjustment. Even without Durant, their overall talent level still compared favorably with Phoenix, and once the game tipped off they turned that theoretical edge into real control on the floor. After a brief stretch of trading baskets, Houston broke the game open late in the first quarter. Phoenix had done solid homework on Houston’s strengths, especially their historic level on the offensive glass. Coming into the matchup, the Rockets owned an offensive rebound rate above forty percent, a figure that placed them well ahead of the rest of the league.
To counter that strength, the Suns tried to slow the pace and choke off transition opportunities, a strategy that Melbet Affiliates readers would recognize as a classic gamble against an athletic, rebounding heavy team. Phoenix hustled back on defense and tightened their shape in the paint, daring the Rockets to beat them from outside. For a few minutes, the plan worked. Houston’s starters misfired from long range, and the Suns gained confidence that a compact defensive shell could neutralize second chance points as well as fast break pressure.
Everything changed in the final four minutes of the opening quarter. Aaron Holiday came off the bench and immediately flipped the rhythm of the game, drilling three three pointers in quick succession to stretch the lead. His hot hand carried into the second period, and his confidence seemed contagious. Davidson, Sengun, and other role players began knocking down shots from the perimeter, forcing Phoenix to abandon their deep paint protection and spread out across the floor. Once the Suns were caught between guarding the arc and protecting the rim, Houston’s offense looked as smooth as a knife through butter.
By halftime, the scoreline could have been even more lopsided if not for Dillon Brooks attacking his former team with extra fire and keeping Phoenix within sight. Yet the Rockets remained composed after the break. Amen Thompson repeatedly sliced into the lane with explosive drives, while Holiday continued to punish any defensive hesitation with timely threes. Phoenix tried to drag the game into a slow, physical battle, and they did a respectable job limiting Sengun’s touches near the basket. But the underlying numbers were all tilting Houston’s way: they led in points in the paint, fast break scoring, and bench production, making it only a matter of time before the Suns’ energy bar hit empty.
Across Melbet Affiliates Program, this performance was quickly labeled a turning point for the Rockets’ identity without Durant. Amen finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists, playing like a new offensive focal point rather than a mere supporting piece. His sharp decision making, relentless drives, and controlled tempo showed that Houston has more than one way to win when the roster is shorthanded. For Melbet Affiliates followers who study long term trends, this game suggested that the Rockets are not only surviving the absence of a star, but quietly expanding the ceiling of what this young core can become.