Dec. 4, 2025, 5:24 p.m. MT
HOUSTON – Dillon Brooks was probably ready to play this game the moment he learned the Houston Rockets traded him to the Phoenix Suns as part of the Kevin Durant deal before the 2025 NBA Draft.
Imagine how he’s feeling about facing the Rockets in Houston on Friday, Dec. 5, for the first time since the trade.
Suns coach Jordan Ott has an idea.
“I assume his juices will be rolling tomorrow night,” Ott said after the team’s Dec. 4 workout at the Suns’ practice facility.
Brooks was thinking about the Rockets just minutes after scoring 33 points in leading Phoenix to a 125-108 road victory Dec. 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns (13-9) fell to the Rockets (14-5) in their first meeting, 114-92, on Nov. 24 in Phoenix in the second of a back-to-back. That’s the only time Phoenix has scored fewer than 100 points this season.
“We owe them something,” Brooks said.
Brooks scored 29 points and had his share of interactions with Rockets coach Ime Udoka during the game. Brooks is averaging a career-high 22.3 points in his first year in Phoenix.
Now he returns to Houston to face a team he helped turn around in his two seasons there. The Rockets went from having a losing record the year before he arrived from Memphis to finishing the regular season second in the Western Conference last season.
“I’m hungry,” Brooks said. “Want to get a win over there. I think the guys want to win, too, against a great team. We’re going to be ready.”
The second Suns-Rockets matchup will have a different vibe beyond Brooks being back inside Toyota Center wearing a different uniform.
Durant will play his first game against the Suns since the trade, a 114-92 Houston win on Nov. 21 in Phoenix. He missed the first matchup for personal reasons.
“It’s a new person in their lineup that greatly affects their team,” said Ott about Durant, who is averaging 25 points in his first season with the Rockets. “It’ll be almost a completely different scout with him out there.”
The Suns will be without Devin Booker, who suffered a right groin strain in the first quarter of the team’s win over the Lakers. He’ll be re-evaluated next week.
“He knew,” Ott said about Booker. “He knows his body better than anyone. Super self-aware. He kind of felt it right away. Hopefully just a minor strain. Then to get it confirmed, I think that’s a relief to all of us.”
Booker had just 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting and committed six turnovers in 38 minutes in the first Rockets-Suns matchup.
Mark Williams and Grayson Allen are both set to play against the Rockets. Both missed Phoenix’s first game against Houston this season.
Williams sat out the second of a back-to-back as he has yet to play in the second of back-to-back this season for Phoenix.
“Their offensive rating is super high,” said Williams about facing the Rockets. “Rebound the ball really well. They’ve got a lot of scorers, efficient scorers. So just do a good job in transition. Making sure we’re taking quality shots.”
Phoenix bigs Nick Richards and Oso Ighodaro combined for just six points against the Rockets last month while Houston centers Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams totaled 24 points.
Williams is averaging 12.9 points on 65% shooting and nine rebounds this season.
“It’ll be a good test for Mark,” Ott said. “Know exactly how he can impact going against those bigger teams. Just the overall challenge not only for Mark, but for all of us.”
Allen was sidelined with a right quad contusion in that first Rockets-Suns game. He was a late scratch against the Lakers with an illness, but Allen is set to return for the Rockets game.
The Suns will have had three days between their last game and facing Houston this time. The first meeting was the second of a back-to-back for them.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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