{"id":486364,"date":"2026-01-02T05:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T05:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/486364\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T05:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T05:11:14","slug":"rockets-120-nets-96-alperen-sengun-30-dazzles-in-healthy-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/486364\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets 120, Nets 96: Alperen Sengun (+30) dazzles in healthy return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a New Year\u2019s Day matchup to open 2026, the Rockets extended their winning streak to four games with a dominant 120-96 road victory (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/hou-vs-bkn-0022500471\/box-score\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:box score;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">box score<\/a>) over the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/basketball\/nba\/teams\/brooklyn-nets\/17\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Brooklyn Nets;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Brooklyn Nets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Houston (21-10) continues to hold its position at No. 4 in the Western Conference <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/standings\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:standings;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">standings<\/a>, though the Rockets and third-seeded <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/basketball\/nba\/teams\/denver-nuggets\/7\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Denver Nuggets;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Denver Nuggets<\/a> (23-10) are tied in the loss column.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>With Thursday\u2019s home loss, Brooklyn fell to 10-21.<\/p>\n<p>After missing two consecutive games <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/rockets-injuries-alperen-sengun-probable-194529916.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:with left calf tightness;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">with left calf tightness<\/a>, Rockets center Alperen Sengun returned and was dynamic in his 34 minutes. A 2025 NBA All-Star, Sengun finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals while making 8-of-12 shots (66.7%), and Houston was +30 in his time on the floor.<\/p>\n<p>Other player statistics of note included:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"content-list\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\">Amen Thompson: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; 10-of-12 shooting (83.3%), 2-of-3 on 3-pointers (66.7%)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\">Kevin Durant: 22 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds; 8-of-15 shooting (53.3%), 2-of-7 on 3-pointers (28.6%)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\">Tari Eason: 15 points, 9 rebounds; 6-of-7 shooting (85.7%), 2-of-2 on 3-pointers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\">Reed Sheppard: 14 points, 3 blocks, 2 rebounds; 5-of-11 shooting (45.5%), 2-of-6 on 3-pointers (33.3%)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\">Jabari Smith Jr.: 14 points, 5 rebounds; 5-of-11 shooting (45.5%), 2-of-6 on 3-pointers (33.3%)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\">Cam Thomas (Nets): 21 points; 8-of-13 shooting (61.5%), 3-of-7 on 3-pointers (42.9%), +2 in 23 minutes<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\">Nic Claxton (Nets): 11 points, 8 rebounds; 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%), -19 in 24 minutes<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both teams were short-handed, with the Rockets missing Steven Adams (ankle sprain) and Clint Capela (illness) from their usual rotation. On the other side, the Nets\u2019 absences included Michael Porter Jr. (illness), Terance Mann (hip contusion), and Egor Demin (back soreness).<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Next up for Houston is the finale of a two-game road trip, which takes place Saturday night in Dallas. Tipoff versus the Mavericks (12-22) is at 7:30 p.m. Central, and the game will be\u00a0televised regionally\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/first-time-rockets-offer-direct-154546803.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:on Space City Home Network (SCHN);elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on Space City Home Network (SCHN)<\/a>\u00a0and nationally via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/go.skimresources.com\/?id=83224X1595658&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fleague-pass-purchase&amp;xcust=story%2Fsports%2Fnba%2Frockets%2F2_u5mZ2NZFU2QZQ7V6AZ7gxYg&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Frocketswire.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnba%2Frockets%2F2025%2F11%2F30%2Frockets-13-4-crush-jazz-as-kevin-durant-makes-uber-efficient-return%2F87537714007%2F\" data-i13n=\"elm:affiliate_link;elmt:premonetized\" rel=\"sponsored noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NBA League Pass;elm:affiliate_link;elmt:premonetized;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">NBA League Pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>More: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/knows-game-reed-sheppard-sophomore-155702613.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:\u2018He knows the game\u2019: Reed Sheppard\u2019s sophomore leap boosts Rockets;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u2018He knows the game\u2019: Reed Sheppard\u2019s sophomore leap boosts Rockets<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: <a href=\"https:\/\/rocketswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nba\/rockets\/2026\/01\/01\/rockets-120-nets-96-alperen-sengun-30-dazzles-in-healthy-return\/87983877007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Rockets 120, Nets 96: Alperen Sengun (+30) dazzles in healthy return;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Rockets 120, Nets 96: Alperen Sengun (+30) dazzles in healthy return<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a New Year\u2019s Day matchup to open 2026, the Rockets extended their winning streak to four games&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":486365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[8611,8435,3124,57175,20539,1596,3134,41056,4345,8609,3359,31302,1260,6274,9276,5565,62,8610,8607,24964,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-486364","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-alperen-sengun","9":"tag-amen-thompson","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-cam-thomas","12":"tag-clint-capela","13":"tag-dallas","14":"tag-denver-nuggets","15":"tag-egor-demin","16":"tag-houston","17":"tag-jabari-smith-jr","18":"tag-kevin-durant","19":"tag-michael-porter-jr","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-nic-claxton","22":"tag-reed-sheppard","23":"tag-rockets","24":"tag-sports","25":"tag-steven-adams","26":"tag-tari-eason","27":"tag-terance-mann","28":"tag-united-states","29":"tag-unitedstates","30":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115823790252297785","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}