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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Ben DuBose

‘Not backing down’: Alperen Sengun battles as Rockets fall to Anthony Davis, Lakers

After losing to the Rockets in Houston last month, the full-strength Lakers got some revenge in Sunday’s 134-109 blowout (box score) at Toyota Center. This time, superstars Anthony Davis (40 points, 75% FG, 9 rebounds) and LeBron James (18 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) were available, and each made a major impact as Los Angeles (40-38) got a much-needed victory in the 2023 playoff race.

The Rockets (19-60) were led by young guards Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr., but each was decidedly less efficient relative to Friday’s victory over Detroit. Green had 24 points and 7 assists on 7-of-21 shooting (33.3%), while Porter had 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting (43.8%) — though he did make 6-of-10 from 3-point range (60.0%).

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Second-year big man Alperen Sengun stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks on 9-of-17 shooting (52.9%), while rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. had an efficient 14 points and 6 rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting and 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%).

“I’ve challenged him this season, when it comes to the defensive end, and he’s responded,” head coach Stephen Silas said of Sengun. “I’m happy for him. He’s supremely confident, and he’s going to be a really good player in this league. For him to be that, it has to be on both ends of the floor. He’s not backing down. He’s trying really hard. He’s really rebounding the ball. He’s trying to do all the coverages.”

“Tonight was a really tough matchup, but he didn’t back down from it, not one bit,” Silas concluded, as relayed by Lachard Binkley of SB Nation’s The Dream Shake blog. “I love that.”

Scroll on for highlights, postgame interviews with players and head coach Stephen Silas, and reaction by Houston fans and media members after Sunday’s loss to the Lakers. The Rockets close out their 2022-23 home schedule with Tuesday’s Toyota Center season finale versus Denver, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central.

Highlights

Analysis and Interviews

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