Prized big man Christian Wood somehow stayed in Wednesday’s game for the Rockets, despite suffering an ugly right ankle sprain late in the first half. Unfortunately for Houston, despite Wood’s gritty effort, they weren’t nearly good enough in the minutes without him.
After cutting a 20-point Phoenix lead to seven after the third quarter, the lead ballooned to 15 in the five minutes that Wood sat out early in the fourth. Ultimately, that was too much to overcome against the improving Suns (8-5), who showed why they have the No. 4 record in the West during a 109-103 win (box score) at Toyota Center. The Rockets were +3 in the 34 minutes that Wood played, and -9 in the 14 that he rested.
The Rockets came as close as two points during the game’s final two minutes, but a pair of fouls against DeAndre Ayton and Devin Booker allowed Phoenix to bump the lead back up. Ayton led the Suns with 26 points and 17 rebounds, while Booker scored 24.
Wood had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots for the Rockets (4-9), who have the second-worst record in the Western Conference and have now lost five of their last six games, overall. Backcourt starters Victor Oladipo and Eric Gordon each scored 22 in the narrow defeat.
Christian Wood severely rolled his ankle here. Was able to get up afterwards, headed straight to the Rockets locker room. pic.twitter.com/UaJADrqWqL
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) January 21, 2021
Christian Wood said he was hurting throughout the entire second half and he was advised not to play. "My team needed me. That's the only reason why I came back in the second half." Said his ankle is swelling now.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 21, 2021
The Rockets were again without two usual starters in guard John Wall (left knee soreness) and forward Danuel House Jr. (self-isolation). Both are also expected to miss the upcoming back-to-back on Friday in Detroit and Saturday in Dallas. While Wood returned Wednesday, his availability could depend on how his ankle responds over the next 48 hours. In postgame comments, he noted that he was “in a lot of pain.”
Here’s a sampling of Wednesday’s postgame reaction.
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