There may not be must-wins in the NBA in December, but the Phoenix Suns needed a victory Wednesday.

And they got just that.

Phoenix defeated the Houston Rockets 129-113 in Wednesday’s Western Conference showdown at Toyota Center. The Suns, who were without Bradley Beal (ankle), ended their three-game losing streak and improved to 15-15 overall and 4-9 in the last 13.

Houston didn’t have Dillon Brooks (oblique), and Phoenix wasted no time establishing control behind its primary playmakers. Kevin Durant stuffed the stat sheet with a triple-double of 27 points, 16 assists, 10 rebounds and two steals, while Devin Booker added 20 points, seven assists and four boards.

Phoenix was expected to be a championship contender behind the trio of Durant, Booker and Beal, but its overall inconsistency has been one of the biggest storylines in the early portion of the season.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski even said people around the organization can “feel the frustration [from] Durant” as the team struggles. It surely doesn’t help that Beal has played just six games because of injury and is once again sidelined with an ankle setback.

With that as the backdrop, any struggles from the Suns were sure to be magnified. However, they set the tone in the early going and jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter before extending it to 18 by halftime.

It wasn’t even Durant and Booker doing most of the initial scoring, as Gordon caught fire from deep while Allen took advantage of openings with Houston focused on the stars.

Instead, Durant was in facilitator mode with double-digit assists before intermission. It was also a matter of time before Booker put up his numbers, and he took over the scoring role in the third quarter as the Suns continued to keep the Rockets at bay.

Now he and the Suns will look to build some momentum when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.