HE DID IT AGAIN!
Alperen Sengun scores 30 points as Rockets hand Nets fifth straight loss
Jan 4, 2024, 11:01 am
Sengnun had himself a night. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Alperen Sengun scored 30 points and Fred VanVleet added 21 points and 10 assists as the Houston Rockets beat the Brooklyn Nets 112-101 on Wednesday night.
Sengun has hit the 20-point mark in seven consecutive games. He shot 11 of 17 from inside and drained 8-of-10 free throws while grabbing eight rebounds.
“On offense they trust me,” Sengun said. “They’re playing through me, a lot isolation, so I’m trying my best to score.”
VanVleet knocked down 6-of-8 3-pointers, with Houston finishing the game 19 of 39 from long distance.
The Nets have lost five in a row and 10 of their last 12, dropping them 15-20 on the season.
“I’m going to continue to hold them to a standard,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “They deserve that. This will make us better as a team. We’ll grow from this together, but the belief part of it has to be the first part of getting out of this hole.”
Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson led the Nets with 15 points. Nic Claxton added 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Royce O’Neale chipped in 13 points off the bench.
VanVleet scored 11 points in the first quarter and the Rockets led 26-22. Houston shot 6 of 11 from behind the 3-point line, with VanVleet converting on all three of his attempts, but Brooklyn scored nine points off nine Houston turnovers in the second quarter to take a 50-49 lead at halftime.
“They had 14 points off those 12 (turnovers) in the first half and nine fast break points,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We looked at that and said, ‘They scored 50, only, and if we take care of that they’re in the low 30s,' so did a much better job. Only three turnovers in the second half.”
Brooklyn grew its lead to five within the first three minutes of the third quarter only to see Houston go on a 24-6 run, which was capped by Cam Whitmore’s third 3-pointer of the night. He finished with 11 points off Houston’s bench.
The Rockets outscored the Nets 38-25 in a third quarter that ended with VanVleet blocking O’Neale’s half-court heave at the buzzer to take a 12-point lead into the fourth, and Brooklyn couldn't get closer than nine points in the final period.
Houston improved to 17-15 despite playing without starting forward Dillon Brooks, who missed his fourth straight game due to an oblique strain, and Tari Eason, because of left leg soreness.
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Nets: Host Oklahoma City on Friday night.
Rockets: Host Minnesota on Friday night as their seven-game homestand continues.
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With MLB free agency upon us, the Astros have some big decisions to make as they try to put the best possible roster together for the 2025 season.
We all know Alex Bregman's future is the big topic of conversation for Astros fans this offseason, but some other notable players are also free agents. That list includes Justin Verlander, Yusei Kikuchi, Kendall Graveman, Jason Heyward, Hector Neris, Ben Gammel, and Caleb Ferguson. (Houston also released Jose Urquidy on Monday, and he has already cleared waivers).
Full list of Astros moves:
Acquired Taylor Trammell for cash
Outrighted Oliver Ortega and José Urquidy, both of whom cleared waivers and are free agents
Lost Trey Cabbage (Pirates), Seth Martinez (DBacks), Penn Murfee (White Sox) on waivers.
The 40-man roster is full
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 4, 2024
And while it's hard to have confidence that the Astros will be willing to pay what Bregman will command on the open market (around 6-years, $150 million to 7-years, $185 million), one thing could be working in Houston's favor.
Demand for a top dollar third baseman may not be as high as Bregman and his agent Scott Boris were hoping for. SportsMap's Charlie Pallilo goes through all the team's with a need for a player like Bregman and only sees a few matches that make sense.
Especially if the Yankees spend big on Juan Soto. With them out of the picture, it could be tough for Breggy to find the type of contract he's looking for as a third baseman.
There are some teams that could definitely use his services, like the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays for example. But the Mariners have been reluctant to commit that type of money to offense, and if winning is important, would Breggy go to Toronto?
Now, if Bregman is willing to move to second base, that could open up some more possibilities. We'll dive into that more in the video below.
Silver Slugger finalists
Could the Silver Slugger finalists influence owner Jim Crane's approach in free agency? Here's why we bring this up. The World Champion LA Dodgers have 5 finalists this year. The Astros have 4 (Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Bregman, Yainer Diaz), and likely would have had 5 if not for the injury to Kyle Tucker.
Even if the Astros were to move on from Bregman, that would still leave them with 4 possible finalists once again in 2025. Considering how much money the Dodgers spend each year, the fact that the Astros roster is still comparable to the Dodgers might add to Crane's belief that this team doesn't need another splashy move to win a World Series.
They may just need to get a little better on the margins to get this team back in serious contention for a title.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we examine all the possible landing spots for Bregman, how that impacts Houston's chances at bringing him back, and what overall strategy we should expect from Dana Brown and the Astros this offseason.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon. Find all via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Tickets are $75 for VIP and $50 for General Admission. For a limited time, we’re giving you $10 off; use code SPORTSMAP at checkout. Get your tickets now!