The Houston Rockets continued their rapid ascent towards the top of the league’s totem pole by being the second team to book their spot in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup following a thrilling 117-111 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. For a second, it looked as though the Rockets were going to choke away an 18-point lead, but in the end, Houston did just enough to pull away.
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As has usually been the case for the Rockets this season, Alperen Sengun once again played a starring role in their huge victory over another aspiring contender. This matchup is not easy at all for Sengun, as he was being defended by Rudy Gobert for most of the night, but Sengun and the Rockets were the ones to have the last laugh — with the 22-year-old center tallying 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists for his third triple-double of the campaign.
With Sengun under contract for the Rockets until at least the 2028-29 season, the best may be yet to come for Houston.
Sengun, in the process, has made some nice big-man history as well. According to StatMamba on X (formerly known as Twitter), the Rockets star became the youngest center in NBA history to tally at least seven career triple-doubles.
The Rockets continue to build their offense around Sengun, and it is churning out positive results; the team has plenty of willing and capable off-ball movers who capitalize on Sengun’s elite feel for the game, and after their latest win, they stand in third place in the Western Conference standings with a 13-6 record.
