Overview
- The Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-110 on Monday to improve to 4-0, with Alperen Sengun scoring 29 points while adding nine rebounds and nine assists.
- Sengun also had six steals and shot 11-of-15 from the field, a stat line that StatMuse noted joins him with Nikola Jokić as the only centers to reach those numbers in a game.
- Kevin Durant (22 points) and Jabari Smith Jr. (16 points, 12 rebounds) provided veteran scoring and finishing, while Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson supplied a productive bench lift.
- Houston won by attacking inside, shooting about 53 percent overall and outrebounding Atlanta 52-35, but the staff faces short-term rotation choices with Marcus Smart day-to-day and Steven Adams out at least a week.
- The Rockets head to Milwaukee next and must adjust without Sengun if he is unavailable, a development that would shift playmaking to guards and stretch minutes for Durant, Smith and the bench.