Durant's 3-pointer in final seconds gives Rockets 100-97 win over the Suns

HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 26 points and his 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to go lifted the Houston Rockets to a 100-97 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

The game was tied when Durant drained the 27-footer to give the Rockets the victory over his former team. Durant joined the Rockets from Phoenix this summer in a blockbuster trade that sent Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green to the Suns.

Devin Booker's 3-point attempt bounced off the rim after Durant gave Houston the lead to end it.

The Suns had a chance to take the lead before Durant’s game winner, but Booker’s 3-point attempt was off. Phoenix got the rebound, but the shot clock expired, giving Houston the ball with 5.1 seconds to go.

Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. added 17 points each to help Houston to its fifth win in six games.

Booker scored 27 points and Brooks had 15 for the Suns, whose two-game winning streak ended.

The Rockets led by seven with less than five minutes left before the Suns used a 10-0 run, with eight points from Booker, to take a 97-94 lead with about 2 1/2 minutes to go.

Smith made a free throw with six minutes remaining, but the Rockets hadn’t scored a field goal in almost 4 1/2 minutes when a three-point play by Thompson tied it with under two minutes remaining.

Houston’s Alperen Sengun sat out after spraining his right ankle Saturday and coach Ime Udoka said the big man is expected to miss 10 to 14 days with the injury.

The game was briefly delayed in the second quarter because of a malfunction of the clocks and scoreboard before play resumed without either working and the public address announcer periodically announcing the time on the game clock and shot clock.

The clock and scoreboard began working with about four minutes left in the first half, and the shot clocks were restored for the start of the third quarter.

Suns: Visit Memphis on Wednesday.

Rockets: Play consecutive games at Portland on Wednesday and Friday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Play continues with the shot clock not working during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Phoenix Suns' Jordan Goodwin, left, reaches to knock the ball away from Houston Rockets' Jabari Smith Jr. during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets' Tari Eason (17) knocks the ball away from Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Phoenix Suns' Dillon Brooks, center, goes up for a shot as Houston Rockets' Jabari Smith Jr. (10) and Tari Eason (17) defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets' Kevin Durant (7) celebrates with Amen Thompson (1) after making a game-winning 3-point basket against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Alex Wennberg had a goal and an assist against his former team, and the San Jose Sharks bounced back from a frustrating loss three days earlier and beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Zack Ostapchuk also had a goal while Macklin Celebrini and Mario Ferraro added empty-netters to help the Sharks win their fourth in five games. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 34 shots for San Jose, which was coming off a 7-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

Wennberg, the Blue Jackets’ first-round pick in 2013, assisted on Pavol Regenda’s goal in the first period then scored on a power play early in the second for his eighth goal of the season. That moved the 31-year-old within two points of reaching 400 for his career.

Celebrini’s goal was his 23rd of the season and extended the 19-year-old’s career-high point streak to 11 games.

Zach Werenski scored his team-leading 16th goal for Columbus, and Sean Monahan also had a goal. Jet Greaves finished with 31 saves.

San Jose broke through moments after Nedeljkovic stopped Charlie Coyle’s wrist shot. Regenda responded quickly and broke free to score his sixth of the season on a cross-ice pass from Wennberg with 49 seconds left.

Wennberg made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 4:14 of the second when he fired the puck between Greaves' legs. It gave Wennberg his seventh multi-point game of the season.

Werenski trimmed San Jose’s lead to 2-1 with his goal late in the second. He has five points in three games since returning from an ankle injury.

Ostapchuk’s second goal of the season made it 3-1 before Monahan pulled the Blue Jackets within one with 3:55 to go.

Ferraro and Celebrini scored into the empty net 45 seconds apart to seal San Jose's win.

Blue Jackets: At Vegas on Thursday night.

Sharks: At Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky, middle back, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Thien-An Truong)

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini celebrates after scoring in the shoot-out of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)