Sengun Dominates in Rockets 107-92 Dispelling of Wizards
Wizard Over Wizards. Terror Twins. Defensive Showcase.
The Wizard overpowered the Washington Wizards basketball team on Monday night at Toyota Center. Alperen Sengun, aka “The Wizard,” put on a dominant performance, leading the Rockets to a 107-92 victory in front of the home fans. Washington had no answer for Sengun, who scored 27 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, to go along with 3 assists and 3 blocks. Wizards rookie Alex Sarr looked helpless trying to defend Sengun. Houston’s center has vastly improved on the defensive end as well this season. Sengun held Sarr to only 5 points, and the entire Rockets team had one of their best games of the defensive end. This is the first back-to-back Houston has played this season, and despite the opponent, it’s still a positive sign. The Rockets were only 2-10 in the end of back-to-backs last season. And they’ll have at least more than ten of those contests remaining on the schedule.
On Monday night, Houston had the most blocks and steals they’ve had all season in their win over the Wiz. Led by Amen Thompson and Tari Eason, also known as the “Terror Twins,” the Rockets were beasts on defense all night. The Terror Twins contributed 7 steals and 6 blocks combined, as the pair continues to be a tenacious presence for opposing offenses. The Rockets led for the entire game, but still let the Wizards cut the lead to 6 points in the fourth quarter. Houston managed to pull away using a 19-5 run in the fourth quarter, but the squad is still struggling to shoot the ball.
Houston’s offense needs to improve in the coming games, as the Rockets prepare for a two-game home series against James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. The Clips are a lethal offensive team compared to the lowly Wizards that Houston defeated on Monday night. Hopefully, Fred VanVleet will be ready to return from injury, as his absence was felt against Washington, despite coming out victorious.
Without their starting point guard, the Rockets committed a season-high 21 turnovers, dished out a season-low 13 assists, and made only 5 threes, also a season low. The Wizards are a bad team, and Houston got lucky they got to play them without FVV. Despite his struggles to start the season, the Rockets need VanVleet if they’re going to seriously contend for a playoff spot this year. They’re also going to need Sengun to continue his surge in play, as Houston readies for a two-game series against a much better Clippers team, beginning Wednesday night.