Rookie big man Alperen Sengun had the best scoring night of his young NBA career, leading Houston to a 115-98 victory (box score) at Portland on Saturday night. With the win, the Rockets (20-55) swept the injury-ravaged Trail Blazers (27-47) in a weekend back-to-back, and it represents Houston’s first streak of consecutive victories since January.
Sengun scored 27 points in under 26 minutes, making 10-of-16 shots (62.5%) overall. He also collected 7 rebounds and dished out 3 assists.
Fellow rookie Jalen Green stayed hot, scoring 25 points in 32 minutes on 6-of-11 from 3-point range (54.5%). Green, the No. 2 pick from the 2021 NBA draft, was Friday’s leading scorer. Backcourt mate Kevin Porter Jr. had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 assists.
The Trail Blazers were again led by power forward Trendon Watford, who scored a team-high 15 points in 30 minutes on 7-of-11 shooting (63.6%). He also added 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Unfortunately, Watford left the game early…