Alperen Sengun scored a game-high 27 points and Kevin Durant added 25 to lead the visiting Houston Rockets to a dominant 129-101 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Sunday.
Steven Adams also made an impact off the bench, recording a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Amen Thompson filled up the box score with five points, nine assists, eight rebounds and a steal.
The Rockets shot 52.9% from the field and went 11-for-31 on 3-point attempts. Houston outrebounded the Jazz 50-33, including 15 offensive boards.
Durant, who missed the Rockets’ last two games due to personal reasons, wasted no time making his presence felt. The star forward scored 17 points in the first half and went 3-for-4 from distance.
Behind Durant and Sengun, the Rockets did a lot of their damage in the first half, taking a 67-48 lead into the half. Houston forced 14 turnovers in the first half and scored 17 points off those miscues. In total, Utah finished with 17 turnovers.
The Jazz started the third quarter on a 13-7 run to cut the deficit to 13. But Houston immediately responded with a 24-3 run of its own to help take a 30-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
Rookie Ace Bailey led the Jazz with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Lauri Markkanen added 18 points and 8 rebounds while Jusuf Nurkic posted 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Nurkic went 6-for-7 from the floor and made his first five baskets.
Keyonte George, who has been one of the bright spots for Utah this season, went scoreless in 19 minutes and had eight turnovers. As a team, the Jazz went just 9-for-32 from deep.
The Rockets have now won eight of their last nine games, while the Jazz have dropped five of their last six contests.
