Instant Reaction: Rockets Torch Suns in Historic Night for Kevin Durant

The Phoenix Suns fell hard to the Houston Rockets in 117-98 fashion on Friday night at Toyota Center.

It was a night where Houston started festivities off sluggish but quickly gained momentum after the first quarter and never looked back, leading by as much as 30 in the win.

Dillon Brooks led the Suns in scoring with 23 points on 24 shot attempts in Devin Booker's absence while Amen Thompson paced Houston with 31.

The Rockets (15-5) have now won their last 10-of-12 and currently lead the season series 2-0 over Phoenix while the Suns (13-10) have lost their last 4-of-6.

Rapid reactions as action finishes up in H-Town:

Dillon Brooks Still Loved by Houston

It's always an unknown when players return back to previous stops -- especially a player such as Brooks, who is as polarizing as they come.

Ahead of tonight's matchup with Brooks making his return to Houston for the first time since being traded, he still kept true to his villain mantra.

"Whatever. I'm just expecting a reaction when we win at the end of the game," Brooks said when asked what reaction he was expecting from the home crowd (h/t Duane Rankin).

Yet Brooks got emotional when the Rockets showed a nice welcome home tribute prior to tonight.

Brooks has been a fan-favorite where he's played and hated practically everywhere else. Such is life for someone like him, though it's still cool to see the respect is there from his former team.

Kevin Durant's Revenge Game

This was Durant's first game against Phoenix since being traded away from the Suns this summer.

After making NBA history in the first quarter, Durant quickly found his footing and reminded Phoenix exactly what he was capable of -- hitting 28 points, four rebounds, eight assists, three steals and one block while sitting out the entire fourth quarter thanks to Houston's massive lead.

Durant got the job done at all levels, on both ends of the floor. This was all without Alperen Sengun, who was ruled out ahead of game time due to illness.

The Suns don't regret the Durant trade, at all, but he very clearly still has some juice left in the tank.

And knowing Durant, he surely had motivation entering tonight against his former team.

Devin Booker's Absence Looms Large

This was Phoenix's first game without Booker after the All-Star suffered a groin injury, and it was evident by about the second quarter exactly how much the Suns missed Booker -- in numerous facets.

While his scoring was the obvious cherry on top of the sundae, his mere gravity (which allowed pristine spacing for shooters around him) was also absent in Houston.

The Suns struggled heavily to generate any offense throughout the night, and that coveted spacing was nowhere to be found at the three-point line as Phoenix shot a mind-boggling just 14% from deep (5-36) - which qualifies as the worst three-point shooting night for any team this season.

The good news? Booker shouldn't be out very long.

The bad news? Phoenix isn't close to the same team they are with Booker on the floor, and no amount of grit, effort or hustle can make up for that.

The Suns are back in action on Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.