Sengun's 29-Point Night Lifts Houston Past San Antonio, 114-110
Alperen Sengun posted 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead Houston past San Antonio 114-110 on Saturday. Four Rockets finished with 20 or more points, but it was Sengun's all-around dominance that separated these two young, dangerous rosters.
The first quarter was a street fight from the opening tip. Sengun opened the scoring with a 24-foot three-pointer, VanVleet assisting, and Houston pushed to 10-5 before San Antonio's young backcourt answered. Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle combined to flip the lead — Harper's layup off a Castle feed made it 10-11 — before Sengun responded with a driving dunk to put Houston back in front. Wembanyama then threw down an alley-oop dunk off a Castle assist to reclaim the edge for the Spurs, and the quarter kept seesawing. Kevin Durant steadied Houston late, hitting a 17-foot jumper and converting two free throws to push the lead to 23-21, and the Rockets carried momentum into the second.
The single biggest moment of the night, statistically, came when Tari Eason converted a free throw in the first quarter — a play that swung San Antonio's home win probability from 70% to 48%, a 22-point shift. That sequence, part of a Houston run that stretched the lead, looks like the moment the Spurs lost control of the game's tempo. By the time the second quarter opened, Houston was operating with confidence: Sengun hit two free throws, then a layup, then set up Bogdan Bogdanovic for a 23-foot three to push the lead to 41-30. San Antonio chipped back — Castle drained a 25-footer, and Durant needed two free throws to keep the cushion — but Houston's lead held at 43-33 through the early second quarter action in the data.
Wembanyama finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds and was genuinely difficult to contain — his 28-foot three-pointer late in the first and his tip-in dunk on the game's second possession showed the full range of what he can do. De'Aaron Fox added 19 points and 9 assists, and Harper contributed 20 points off a steady offensive night. But the Spurs couldn't close the gap when it mattered. Houston's depth looked like a real weapon: Durant (20 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast), Amen Thompson (20 pts, 10 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), and Sengun all operating at a high level simultaneously is a problem for any defense. Six Houston players sat out as coach's decisions, yet the Rockets still had enough firepower to win on the road, 114-110. That depth, on this night, appears to be the story.