Rockets stay hot as Green leads the way in feisty win

ROCKETS DEFEAT SUNS

Rockets Jalen Green, Ime Udoka
The Rockets beat the Suns, 111-104. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Jalen Green had 29 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-104 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night in a game where Houston’s Steven Adams and Phoenix’s Mason Plumlee were ejected for fighting.

Alperen Sengun scored 20 points and Dillon Brooks added 19 to help the Rockets extend their winning streak to four.

Bradley Beal's two free throws got the Suns within eight with about 9 1/2 minutes to go before Houston used a 9-2 run to make it 99-84 with about seven minutes remaining. Jock Landale opened the run with a 3-point play and Brooks capped it with a layup after a turnover by Devin Booker.

Adams and Plumlee were ejected before halftime after getting into a fight where Adams wrestled Plumlee to the court.

Beal had 25 points and Booker and Kevin Durant added 19 each as the Suns lost for the third time in four games.

Takeaways

Suns: Phoenix trailed for double digits for most of this one, a game after going to the wire in a 120-118 loss at Memphis on Monday night.

Rockets: Fred VanVleet had 10 points in 28 minutes in his return after missing 16 games with a right ankle strain. Houston needs him to return to form quickly as the team looks to finish the regular season strong and try to move up in the standings.

Key moment

The big run by the Rockets in the fourth that allowed them to pad the lead.

Key stat

The Suns made just 10 3-pointers Wednesday night after they made 20, with a season-high seven from Durant, on Monday night.

Up next

Both teams play Friday night. Phoenix hosts Sacramento, and Houston hosts Dallas.

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The Astros beat the Rockies, 6-5. Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.

Victor Caratini hit his third career grand slam, Christian Walker went 3 for 4 with an RBI and the Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies 6-5 on Tuesday night.

The Astros have won seven of eight and 15 of their last 19 games.

The Rockies have lost nine of 11 following their first four-game winning streak, falling to a major league-worst 19-66. Colorado’s losses are tied for the most by a major league team in the modern era through the first 85 games.

The Rockies are 8-33 at Coors Field, tied with the 2003 Tigers for the worst start through the first 41 home games of a season in the modern era.

Caratini’s homer in the third gave Houston a 6-1 lead.

Houston reliever Bennett Sousa (2-0) kept Colorado scoreless in the sixth and Bryan Abreu struck out the side in the eighth. Josh Hader added two strikeouts in the ninth to improve to 24 for 24 in save chances — the longest perfect streak in club history to open a season.

Colorado rookie Chase Dollander (2-9) allowed six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings, his shortest start of the season.

Hunter Goodman hit solo homers in the first and ninth innings for his fifth career two-homer game.

Colorado's Jordan Beck had his first career five-hit game.

Key moment

Dollander thew the ball into center field on a pickoff attempt with no outs in the third to put runners on first and third. Jake Meyers picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice to give Houston the lead for good at 2-1.

Key stat

Jose Altuve went 0 for 4 to remain one hit shy of tying Jeff Bagwell (2,314) for second place on the Astros career hits list.

Astros manager Joe Espada caught up with MLB.com's Brian McTaggart after the game.

Up next

Hunter Brown (8-3, 1.74 ERA), who has the fourth-lowest ERA through the first 16 starts of a season in Astros history, faces Austin Gomber (0-1, 6.14) on Wednesday.

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