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HOUSTON — Alperen Şengün scored 43 points on 17-of-24 shooting Friday night, and the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 125-118 at Toyota Center after trailing by 10 late in the third quarter.
Şengün added 12 rebounds and 5 assists and committed one turnover in 37 minutes. He became the third player in Rockets history with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists on 70% shooting, joining Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994 and Yao Ming in 2004. It was the second 40-point game of his career, after a career-high 45 against San Antonio in 2024.
Houston improved to 10-3 with its third straight win and is 1-1 in West Group A with two group games left. Utah lost its 11th straight game and fell to 1-12.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said the Jazz tried to blitz Şengün with a second defender. Şengün went 8-of-12 at the free-throw line, and Mo Bamba fouled out in the final minute.
“Oh, huge. I mean, dominant. You know, he fouled some guys out. They were blitzing him and he was finding all the right guys,” Udoka said.
Utah Takes Over The Third Quarter
The Rockets led 63-53 at halftime and pushed it to 12 on the first basket of the third quarter. Udoka said his team was a little lackadaisical after that, acting as if the game was already won, and Utah outscored Houston 34-12 over the next seven minutes. Keyonte George scored 10 points in the quarter, and Ace Bailey’s transition 3-pointer with 3:31 left gave the Jazz an 87-77 lead.
Houston closed the period on a 15-2 run. Fred VanVleet scored seven points in three minutes after Udoka said he lit into his teammates, and Şengün added eight on a hook, a tip-in, a driving layup, and two free throws. The Rockets led 92-89 after three quarters, and Tari Eason and Bogdan Bogdanović scored Houston’s first 10 points of the fourth to make it 102-94.
Fred VanVleet Beats The Shot Clock To Close It Out
Houston led 107-98 with 7:12 left, but Utah outscored the Rockets 20-18 the rest of the way. Bamba’s cutting layup made it 121-118 with 1:12 left, and both teams missed on their next few trips. After George missed a transition layup with 37 seconds left, VanVleet lost the ball, got it back, and spun in a floater off the glass as the shot clock expired, putting Houston ahead 123-118 with 11.9 seconds to go.
Utah challenged the out-of-bounds call on Brice Sensabaugh with 11.0 seconds left, and the call stood. Kevin Durant made two free throws to finish it. He had 22 points and 6 assists and made all 10 of his free throws.
Şengün scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter after Utah put up 36 in the third. He said closing games is a matter of mentality for this team.
“Want to win, want to win every game, want to finish the game good. It’s the fourth quarter that matters the most,” Şengün said.
Houston committed only eight turnovers, a number Udoka called phenomenal, and scored 18 points off Utah’s 13. The Jazz still outscored the Rockets 18-8 in transition.
Darryn Peterson And Keyonte George Lead Utah
Darryn Peterson led the Jazz with 28 points and 7 rebounds. George had 27 points and 7 assists, and Bailey scored 21 on 7-of-13 shooting. For Houston, Eason had 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, and Amen Thompson added 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Rockets won second-chance points 24-18.
The Jazz played without Lauri Markkanen (right hand fracture), Jaren Jackson Jr. (right MCL tear), and Jusuf Nurkić (right plantar plate tear). Houston was without Steven Adams (right soleus strain) and Clint Capela (right ankle sprain), and Marcus Smart was not with the team while serving a league suspension.
Utah hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT. Houston visits the Washington Wizards on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT.
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