Houston Rockets Beat Indiana Pacers Behind Alperen Sengun’s Masterpiece
Instead of folding without Kevin Durant, the Houston Rockets walked into Gainbridge Fieldhouse and bullied the Indiana Pacers. The final score was 118-114, but the physical toll felt much more lopsided. This wasn’t a finesse win; it was a masterclass in brute force, led by a man who decided the paint belonged solely to him.
Rockets Lean On Alperen Sengun In Monster Performance
With Durant watching from the sidelines, Alperen Sengun realized it was his time to eat. And let me tell you, the man didn’t leave any crumbs. Sengun dropped a massive 39 points, tying his season high. It wasn’t just that he scored; it was how he scored.
He was a force of nature, shooting 13-of-25 from the field. But perhaps the most telling stat of the night was his work at the charity stripe. He went 13-of-18 from the line. When a big man takes nearly 20 free throws, it means the defense has completely run out of ideas. The Pacers tried everything short of tackling him, and that probably wouldn’t have worked either.
It wasn’t a one-dimensional performance, though. Sengun secured his 23rd double-double of the campaign by snagging 16 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. He played 35 minutes of pure dominance, proving that even without KD, the Rockets have a scary amount of firepower in the frontcourt.
Rockets Dominate the Glass In Historic Fashion
If you’re a Pacers fan, you might want to look away for this part. The rebounding discrepancy in this game was, to put it mildly, a disaster for Indiana. The Rockets outrebounded the Pacers 56-33. They nearly doubled them up. It felt like every time a shot went up, there were three white jerseys swarming the rim while the Pacers looked on, hoping for a friendly bounce that never came.
Houston grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. That is an absurd number. That’s 19 extra possessions, 19 extra chances to break the Pacers’ spirit. They converted those boards into 30 second-chance points compared to Indiana’s eight. You simply cannot win NBA games when you get crushed that badly on the glass. Amen Thompson and Tari Eason joined the rebounding party, grabbing 11 and 10 boards, respectively.
Indiana Struggles To Contain the Paint
Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle is one of the sharpest minds in the league, and he called this before the game even started. He warned that playing the Rockets without Durant would actually mean facing a more physical team. He was prophetic, but unfortunately, knowing what’s coming doesn’t mean you can stop it.
The Pacers tried to counter Houston’s size by starting Jay Huff at center, abandoning their recent small-ball experiment. It didn’t matter. Huff couldn’t handle Sengun without fouling, and the Pacers were forced to turn to Isaiah Jackson for heavy minutes. While Jackson managed to be a nuisance, tallying 4 steals and 2 blocks, he ultimately couldn’t stop the bleeding inside.
Bright Spots For the Pacers
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the home team. Despite the loss dropping them to a dismal 13-37 (dead last in the East), they fought back to make it a two-possession game.
Pascal Siakam did his best to keep Indiana afloat, leading the team with 27 points. But the real encouraging sign for Pacers fans has to be the play of Aaron Nesmith. After a rough return from a knee sprain back in November, Nesmith is finally looking like himself again. He dropped 17 points on efficient shooting, hitting three triples for the fifth straight game. If he can maintain this two-way efficiency, he remains a key piece for their future.
Ultimately, though, you can’t beat the Rockets when Sengun decides to turn the key and lock down the paint. Houston improves to 31-17, sitting pretty at fourth in the West, proving they are a serious problem.
