Hawks vs. Rockets: Alperen Sengun scores 29 as Houston sweeps Atlanta's two-game set and moves to 4-0

Two games, two Houston wins. Alperen Sengun had 29 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, and the Houston Rockets pulled away late to beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-110 on Monday night, Oct. 26, at Toyota Center.

The Rockets are 4-0. It was their second win over Atlanta in three nights, after a 121-114 victory in Atlanta on Saturday. The Hawks fell to 2-2.

Hawks vs. Rockets final score

Atlanta led 66-63 at halftime and went up by one on an Aaron Wiggins basket midway through the third quarter. Houston answered with the next nine points, five of them from Sengun, to go up 85-76, the AP reported.

The fourth-quarter run that decided it

A 7-0 Hawks run, capped by a Nickeil Alexander-Walker 3, cut Houston’s lead to 95-93 early in the fourth. Hawks On SI noted that Luguentz Dort then missed an open 3 that would have given Atlanta the lead.

From there, it was all Houston:

• A 14-0 spurt, with 3s from Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason, made it 109-93 with under seven minutes left.
• Jalen Johnson’s dunk ended a scoring drought of about three and a half minutes for Atlanta.
• An 8-0 Rockets run pushed the lead to 117-95 with under five minutes to go.

Counted together, Hawks On SI described it as a 20-2 burst that “effectively ended the game.”

Rockets player stats

Houston shot 53.1% from the field to Atlanta’s 42.9% and outscored the Hawks 26-15 at the free-throw line, according to the CBS Sports box score.

Hawks player stats

Johnson led Atlanta with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists, going 10 of 12 at the line. CJ McCollum added 20 points with four 3-pointers. Alexander-Walker and Aaron Wiggins scored 12 each, and Onyeka Okongwu and Dort had 11 apiece.

What went wrong for Atlanta

Hawks On SI pointed to a few key problems:

1. Second-half shooting: Atlanta went 0 for 10 from 3-point range in the third quarter and shot 32% from the field in that period.
2. Size: Houston won the rebounding battle, as expected given its size advantage.
3. Wasted turnovers: The Hawks scored 32 points off 21 Houston turnovers and took 17 more shots, but finished 11 of 39 (28.2%) from deep.

“You can’t score 44 points on 50 second half possessions and expect to beat a team like the Rockets,” the site wrote.

Injury notes

The Rockets again played without Marcus Smart (forearm strain) and Steven Adams (strained leg muscle). Coach Ime Udoka said Smart could return for the next game, but Adams will be out at least another week, the AP reported.

What’s next

• Hawks: Host the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
• Rockets: Visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

FAQ

Earlier coverage: Rockets vs. Hawks: Kevin Durant scores 22 as Houston spoils Atlanta's home opener 121-114 for a 3-0 start (Oct 25)