Alperen Sengun put on an absolute clinic against the Boston Celtics last night, dropping 26 points on a ridiculous 12-15 shooting, leading the Houston Rockets to a decisive 109-93 victory. This dude is playing like a straight-up All-NBA talent this season, and the Celtics, even with their good 5-2 record going into the game, had no answers.
Houston’s Ride and a Wild Game Night
The Rockets are straight up *rolling* right now. They lost a tough, winnable game in Dallas, sure, but they bounced right back with a win over a depleted, but still dangerous, OKC squad the very next night. And then they went and beat Boston, who had been looking real good until this game. Boston was on a back-to-back, yeah, and they were missing “Classic Celtic” Paul George, but the Rockets were pretty much at full strength, with Reed Sheppard, Fred VanVleet, and Marcus Smart all back on the court. Only Clint Capela was out, and honestly, that hurt ’em a bit against Boston’s big, physical centers. The game itself was kinda wild. Disjointed from the jump, with weird calls messing up any chance for free-flowing basketball. The Rockets would get a small lead, say 6-8 points, and you’d think they’d pull away, but Boston would always close the gap. It was back and forth like that until the fourth quarter when Houston finally slammed the door shut, pushing the lead to 20 points.
Celtics’ Three-Point Nightmare
So, what happened to Boston in that fourth quarter? They died by the three. Seriously, they live and die by it, and last night, it was a total brickfest, going a dismal 12-42 from deep. You gotta give some credit to the Rockets’ defense, but also, those Celtics legs looked tired, maybe from that back-to-back. Their big-name shooters? They were straight up cold. Peyton Pritchard went 0-5 from downtown, Jason Tatum was just 1-7, Derek White managed 1-5, and Sam Hauser matched Pritchard with 0-5. Yikes. Only Baylor Scheierman and Luka Garza had anything resembling a decent shooting night with any real volume. If someone had asked you before tip-off who the high scorer would be, Jason Tatum, Kevin Durant, or Alperen Sengun, would you have automatically picked Sengun? Probably not, but man, he’s showing up big this season.
This win pushed Boston’s record to 5-2, a testament to how good they’d been, but also a stark reminder that the Rockets are a serious force right now. With Sengun playing at an All-NBA level and the team finding ways to close out games, even messy ones, Houston is making a statement. They’re making winning look easy, and that’s something to definitely keep an eye on.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Dream Shake.
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