The Phoenix Suns started the night hoping to set the tone at home, but their offense stalled, their defense cracked, and they never matched the Houston Rockets’ pace in a lopsided 92–114 defeat. After the loss to a Kevin Durant-less Rockets team, Dillon Brooks went off on the officiating again, ripping what he called a FIBA-style game built on flops and constant whistles. The atmosphere against the Rockets atmosphere tightened early, and every whistle pushed the Suns further out of rhythm before they could plant any footing.
Brooks’ tone after the game reflected that frustration. He stepped to the podium with a clear message and didn’t soften a word.
Dillon Brooks claimed the Rockets were flopping, holding and grabbing all night:
“I’ve never seen so many flops being rewarded on the other side. It honestly felt like I was in a FIBA game.”pic.twitter.com/gOI9fnsvEl
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) November 25, 2025
“I’ve never seen so many flops being rewarded on the other side,” he said. “It honestly felt like I was in a FIBA game.”
The Suns forward shook his head as he replayed the night in real time, still irritated by how quickly contact turned into whistles. “Like playing basketball in FIBA where you just get reward for flopping,” Brooks added. “Couldn’t be physical with Rockets.”
His comments cut straight to the heart of the Suns' irritation: the game never felt like the game they prepared for.
A night the Suns could never grab back
The Suns couldn’t generate momentum after the opening stretch. Missed shots stalled their offense. Loose rebounds turned into Rockets fast breaks. Every time the Suns tried to answer with physicality, the Rockets hit the floor and earned another trip to the line. The rhythm never flipped. The Suns stayed stuck in a loop, hitting a whistle every time they pushed back.
But this wasn’t only about officiating. Instead, it was about urgency. It was about a Suns team that needed a spark and couldn’t find it under its own roof. Meanwhile, the bench looked stunned. The coaching staff kept searching for combinations that never stabilized the flow. And the fans, who arrived hoping for a bounce-back performance, watched the night slip away possession by possession.
Dillon Brooks’ rant may headline the aftermath, but the bigger question hangs over Phoenix now: how quickly can the Suns fix what’s slipping before the West tightens around them?
