Alperen Sengun, Dennis Schroder energize Rockets in loss to Grizzlies

HOUSTON — Even without All-Star guard and MVP candidate Ja Morant, the Grizzlies continue to show why they’re currently the NBA’s second-best team. Led by 24 points from second-year guard Desmond Bane, Memphis improved to 14-2 on the season without Morant in Sunday’s 122-98 win (box score) over the young Rockets at Toyota Center.

The Rockets (17-54) cut the margin to as little as seven points late in the third quarter before the Grizzlies (49-23) blew the game open with a barrage of 3-point shooting. For the game, Memphis shot 16-of-34 (47.1%) as a team on 3-pointers, and it helped them avenge an upset loss to the Rockets exactly two weeks ago in the same building.

Houston briefly climbed back into the game behind strong bench minutes from veteran guard Dennis Schroder and rookie big man Alperen Sengun. Schroder had 17 points (3-of-6 on 3-pointers) and 4 rebounds in 27 minutes, while Sengun added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting (71.4%) in 23 minutes. Sengun also grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out 3 assists, and he collected several sensational highlights along the way.

Alperen Sengun:

12 points
9 rebounds
3 assists
1 steal

5/7 FG
0/2 3FG
2/3 FT

23 minutes played

Shot 100% inside the arc, including multiple highlight dunks + a sick no-look dime to KPJ.

The #Rockets best player today.pic.twitter.com/k0HKSVYvyI

— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) March 20, 2022

Unfortunately, those individual highlights weren’t enough to keep the Rockets competitive over 48 minutes. One big reason was 3-point shooting, with the Rockets making just 10-of-31 for the game (32.3%). That final line slightly undersells their struggles, since it was lifted by a few late makes in the fourth quarter — when the Grizzlies were no longer playing tough defense due to having a massive lead. The Rockets even struggled on free throws, hitting just 14-of-24 (58.3%) from the stripe.

The shooting woes for the Rockets were headlined by backcourt starters Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green, who combined to score just 22 points on 8-of-31 shooting (25.8%) and 2-of-9 from 3-point range (22.2%).

Second-year forward KJ Martin scored 15 points off Houston’s bench on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers (75.0%). Like Sengun, he added to his growing collection of poster dunks, as well.

Scroll on for highlights and postgame reaction.