{"id":111825,"date":"2024-12-12T16:47:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T21:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=111825"},"modified":"2024-12-12T16:47:09","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T21:47:09","slug":"nobody-beats-alperen-sengun-16-times-in-a-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/12\/nobody-beats-alperen-sengun-16-times-in-a-row\/","title":{"rendered":"Nobody Beats This Rockets Star 16 Times In A Row"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It took a controversial last-minute call to seal it, but the Rockets finally ended their <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/06\/rockets-warriors-losing-streak\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">15-game losing streak<\/a> to the Golden State Warriors and stayed alive in the NBA Cup. It was the biggest game of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/03\/houston-rockets-core\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">young core<\/a>&#8216;s careers and might have locked up a 2024-25 All-Star spot for one Rocket in particular.<\/p>\n<h2>Nobody Beats This Rockets Star 16 Times In A Row<\/h2>\n<p>In the end, the Rockets broke the Warriors&#8217; stranglehold by a single point, 91 to 90. As with most close games, refereeing controversy did occur. This time over a call widely recognized as correct. Down two points with four seconds to go, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greenja05.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Green<\/a> was awarded free throws for a personal foul by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuminjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Kuminga<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Warriors vs. Rockets INSANE Ending - Final 2 Minutes | 2024 NBA Cup\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gYJ40cBBm3A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>First of all, credit to Green for knocking them down. He had another rough night against a Warriors team that&#8217;s like sandpaper bedsheets for him. However, his explosive drives and hustle plays still made his impact felt, such that head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/coaches\/udokaim01c.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ime Udoka<\/a> felt comfortable playing him late. Hopefully, he laid some demons to rest with his clutch free-throw shooting, and the matchup can go a little smoother for him in the future.<\/p>\n<h3>The Rockets Still Learning the Dark Arts of &#8220;Physicality&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>As for the call, it&#8217;s understandable that fans want crunch-time moments to have as little intervention from referees as possible, especially when other calls could just as easily have been made instead. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=X2Pjb2nvlfQ\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Complaints<\/a> from Warriors coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/coaches\/kerrst01c.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steve Kerr<\/a> are understandable as well, though he essentially acknowledged its correctness himself when he was asked why he didn&#8217;t challenge it.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/official.nba.com\/2024-25-nba-officiating-last-two-minute-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Two Minute Report<\/a> is likely to concur. To Kerr&#8217;s point, though, it&#8217;s likely to be littered with various other uncalled violations as well, some benefiting the Warriors, some benefiting the Rockets.<\/p>\n<p>The reality is that the NBA is a league where the team that can get away with the most uncalled fouls usually wins the game. The euphemism is &#8220;playing physical.&#8221; The mantra is something along the lines of &#8220;they can&#8217;t call everything.&#8221; The Warriors have become experts at this over their championship run, chief enforcer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greendr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Draymond Green<\/a> especially.<\/p>\n<p>The Rockets&#8217; young players still have more to learn in these dark arts. Every game like this is an opportunity to do so. They matched the Warriors&#8217; physicality in this one and got lucky when it mattered. That means that soon, they&#8217;ll get another chance to learn some more.<\/p>\n<h3>Sengun Delivered Under the Bright Lights<\/h3>\n<p>While playoff-level physicality is an essential tool, playoff success is usually just as much about star power. As important as Green&#8217;s contributions were, it was Houston&#8217;s other star who asserted himself all night long.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sengual01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alperen Sengun<\/a> had a game-high 26 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Despite not being around from the beginning of Houston&#8217;s losing streak, Sengun seemed to take it personally. In a slug-fest where only one other player on either team breached 20 points (Kuminga tried to do it to the Rockets <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/hou-vs-gsw-0022400332\/box-score\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">again<\/a>), Sengun was a hay-maker.<\/p>\n<p>Nickname aficionado <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/o\/onealsh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shaquille O&#8217;Neal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2AT6Yf9dC5I\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">called Sengun<\/a> the &#8220;Turkish <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duncati01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tim Duncan<\/a>.&#8221;\u00a0As far as raising expectations is concerned, that&#8217;s even worse than all the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a> comparisons. Nonetheless, in an early noughties-style (compared to your average game in 2024) defensive exhibition like this one, the moniker seemed appropriate. The whole NBA community saw it too. That means Sengun probably booked his place on the 2024-25 All-Star roster.<\/p>\n<p>Last season, Sengun almost squeaked in as a starter due to international fan votes. The team&#8217;s improved record might have been enough to get him over the line on its own, but a high-stakes statement game like he put together in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals is the kind of thing that sticks in voters&#8217; minds. That&#8217;s even true when the voters are the coaches, as is the case for reserves.<\/p>\n<h3>The NBA Cup Continues<\/h3>\n<p>Sengun showing he has what it takes to be a star in big moments is probably the big-picture takeaway from last night. The fact they won the game and will get to progress in the NBA Cup is a pretty big one, too though. It&#8217;s a huge blank canvas for the Rockets to make of what they will. Win or lose, this young core can use all the high-stakes gameplay it can get.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\udfc6 THE SEMIFINALS ARE SET \ud83c\udfc6<\/p>\n<p>It&#39;s all going down in Las Vegas&#8230; the <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EmiratesNBACup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#EmiratesNBACup<\/a> Knockout Rounds continue with the Semifinals on Saturday on TNT and ABC! <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eT7LxkYZ5R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/eT7LxkYZ5R<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1867091932847149135?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 12, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Their NBA Cup semi-final opponent will be the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/09\/how-the-thunder-can-win-the-emirates-nba-cup\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Western Conference-leading<\/a> Oklahoma City Thunder. In their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/okc-vs-hou-0022400310\/box-score\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">last matchup<\/a>, Sengun was one assist shy of a 20-point triple-double despite the best efforts of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/12\/will-former-rockets-rookie-decide-the-championship\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">former Rocket<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harteis01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah Hartenstein<\/a>. The Rockets still couldn&#8217;t have won without the heroics of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanvlfr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fred VanVleet,<\/a> though. The Rockets will need something like that again, whether that&#8217;s from VanVleet, Green, or one of Houston&#8217;s many other <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/22\/giannis-the-rockets-have-a-freak-of-their-own\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">exceptional<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/29\/rockets-faith-in-starters-shot-rewarded\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">young<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/02\/rockets-eason-no-easing-in-required\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">talents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>The Rockets&#8217; season can pretty much already be called a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/03\/the-rockets-quarter-season-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">huge success<\/a>. The nightmarish <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/advanced?dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RATING\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-ranked<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/24\/projecting-the-rockets-defense-in-year-2-of-ime-udoka\/\" target=\"_self\">defense<\/a> and relentless <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/10\/saving-grace-of-houston-rockets-offense\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">offensive rebounding<\/a> are the team&#8217;s most dependable skills.\u00a0Sengun&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/19\/this-change-has-rocket-boosted-houstons-offense\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">offensive versatility<\/a>\u00a0is slowly working its way onto that list as well. The Rockets star will need other big offensive contributions to help him chew through the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/28\/the-thunder-defense-has-gotten-off-to-an-impressive-start\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">exceptional Thunder defense<\/a> and make the NBA Cup final. Luckily for Houston, with so many ravenous young mouths to feed, they&#8217;ll have plenty of volunteers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It took a controversial last-minute call to seal it, but the Rockets finally ended their 15-game losing streak to the Golden State Warriors and stayed alive in the NBA Cup. It was the biggest game of the young core&#8216;s careers and might have locked up a 2024-25 All-Star spot for one Rocket in particular. Nobody [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5223,"featured_media":111862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,25,31,62],"tags":[49441,4293,3256],"class_list":["post-111825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-warriors","category-rockets","category-nba","tag-2024-emirates-nba-cup","tag-alperen-sengun","tag-jalen-green"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111825"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111863,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111825\/revisions\/111863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}