Alperen Sengun's Impressive Night Cut Short in Rockets' Loss

Sengun hasn't been efficient on offense to start the season, but showed prowess in Houston's loss. Unfortunately, he was benched and didn't finish the game.

Nov 2, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) reaches for the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Kevon Looney (5) during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets fell to the Golden State Warriors in an overtime thriller, 127-121. In what could've been an epic 31-point comeback win, the Rockets couldn't get it done, scoring just two points in overtime.

Alperen Sengun, the presumed star of the Rockets, was a big part of that comeback. Houston had a 37-point third quarter, with Sengun putting up 14 points and 10 rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting.

What was so impressive is that Sengun did it in just 21 minutes. The Turkish center left for the locker room before the end of the first half but returned for the second half. He put up seven points and six rebounds in the third quarter, before being benched for the entirety of the fourth and overtime.

Sengun didn't necessarily spearhead the comeback, but he played a big part in Houston clawing its way back. For head coach Ime Udoka to bench Sengun, especially when he has an efficient game like this, it's confusing.

Sengun struggled on offense in the Rockets' previous five games before finding his footing last night. He's currently averaging 15.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 38.6% percent. Sengun is shooting 40.0% from three, but it's on 1.6 attempts per game.

Udoka didn't bench Sengun because of his injury. In fact, Adam Spolane of SportsRadio 610 reported that Udoka didn't even know he left the bench before the end of the second quarter. Udoka spoke on Sengun's flaws in the game.

Why did Sengun only play nine minutes in the first half? "Not handling the pace of the game, the physicality, the blitzes that they were doing when we got it to him or the other bigs in the pocket, we were executing out of that," Udoka said. https://t.co/j4wZSQic7Z

— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) November 3, 2024

The Rockets will take on the New York Knicks tomorrow to continue their homestand.

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