Alperen Sengun flirted with a triple-double and the Houston Rockets got back in the win column with a 143-105 blowout of the visiting Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Sengun, who has eight career triple-doubles, finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists to help the Rockets (50-27) win for the 13th time in 15 outings and maintain their No. 2 position in the Western Conference.
Jalen Green led seven Rockets in double figures with 22 points. Dillon Brooks chipped in with 21 points, while Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. Tari Eason totaled 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks as Houston reached the 50-win mark for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Isaiah Collier led the Jazz (16-61) with 22 points. He also dished out 10 assists, adding to his rookie franchise record.
This was the seventh loss in a row for Utah, which has the worst record in the NBA with five games remaining. The Jazz have lost 17 of 18.
Collin Sexton scored 18 for the visitors, while Walker Kessler hauled in 12 rebounds to go with 11 points, and Kyle Filipowski grabbed 11 boards.
Reed Sheppard hit five 3-pointers in nine minutes for 15 points as the Rockets went 19-for-45 (42.2 percent) beyond the arc. Houston shot 53.8 percent overall in its second win over Utah in seven nights.
Houston also outrebounded Utah 63-39 and stretched its lead to as many as 41 points.
Brooks was assessed his 16th technical foul in the first quarter and is facing an automatic one-game suspension. Brooks kicked his leg out near the groin of Sexton.
Brooks hit two treys and Green added another as Houston jumped out to a 9-2 start.
The Jazz used a 12-2 run, sparked by seven points from Sexton, to take a 17-13 lead.
Green then sparked an 11-0 spurt for Houston, which took a 33-26 lead at the end of the first. The quarter ended with an entertaining 3-point shootout between the teams, which exchanged two treys apiece in a 46-second stretch.
The Rockets then began their dominance in the second quarter, taking a 12-point lead with six straight points.
They continued that surge by outscoring Utah 23-8 en route to seizing a commanding 70-46 halftime lead.
Houston opened the second half with a 14-4 push to go up by 34 points three minutes in and never relented.
–Field Level Media
