Phoenix Suns defeated the Houston Rockets Wednesday night, 129-113, and looked like a team that could compete for an NBA championship.

The Suns were backed by forward Kevin Durant, who recorded the 20th triple-double of his career. Durant also tied a career-high 16 assists.

The Suns forward spoke about his mentality after the game. Via AZCentral.com's Duane Rankin:

“Being around the league so much and being around so many different players, you tend to learn that less is more,” said Durant, who finished with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 16 assists, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block. He was also a team-best plus-17.

Durant is looking to help lead the Suns to their first-ever championship. Prior to the team's Christmas game against the Dallas Mavericks, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Durant's frustration has been felt around the city of Phoenix and the organization, having lost eight of 11 games to that point.

“I try to talk with my actions,” said Durant, “and hopefully that inspires people.”

Durant was traded to the Suns, who are the winningest team in basketball since the 2020 bubble, for forwards Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.

“But sometimes if it's something that I see, I try to speak up,” Durant said. “…Most of the time, I just try to lead by example, and go out there and play with intensity and hopefully, people are inspired by it just like I'm inspired by the others that play that hard as well. I try not to do too much talking.”

Durant is averaging 30.2 points — which is sixth-most in the NBA — 6.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists.

The Suns with their win over the Rockets are now 15-15. Phoenix has six straight home games through Jan. 7.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Suns guard Devin Booker said of Durant.

Phoenix returns to play the Charlotte Hornets Friday.