Alperen Sengun, Rockets win physical battle against rival Spurs

Alperen Sengun pounded his way to 29 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, as the Houston Rockets ground out a 114-110 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in Austin, Texas.

The Rockets led by three at halftime and four after three quarters. San Antonio rallied to take a 104-103 lead on Dylan Harper's 3-pointer with 4:19 remaining. Houston kept feeding Sengun, who battled inside for back-to-back layups, a free throw and a three-point play on consecutive possessions to put the Rockets ahead 109-104.

Harper's emphatic dunk with 46 seconds left brought the Spurs within 112-110, and two defensive stops gave San Antonio one final chance with five seconds remaining. The Spurs went to Victor Wembanyama deep in the lane for the tying basket, but Amen Thompson blocked his layup above the rim.

Fred VanVleet grabbed the rebound for Houston with 0.6 seconds remaining and sank two free throws to seal the win, the Rockets' second straight to open the season.

Kevin Durant and Thompson added 20 points apiece for Houston, with Thompson also collecting 10 rebounds. VanVleet finished with 14 points, and Tari Eason scored 12.

Wembanyama paced the Spurs with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Harper had 20 points, De'Aaron Fox added 19 points and nine assists, Stephon Castle tallied 15 points, and Devin Vassell scored 10 for San Antonio, which has opened the season with consecutive losses.

Thompson's dunk capped a late Rockets run that gave Houston a 32-27 lead after the first quarter. Houston extended its advantage to 11 points, but the Spurs rallied to tie the game at 56 on Julian Champagnie's 3-pointer with 54.2 seconds left before halftime.

The teams then traded baskets before VanVleet sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Rockets a 61-59 lead at the break.

Wembanyama led all scorers and rebounders in the first half with 17 points and seven rebounds. Fox added 10 points. Sengun and Thompson paced Houston with 11 points apiece, while Durant scored 10.

The Rockets led by as many as 10 in the third quarter. San Antonio responded with a Champagnie 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Vassell to pull within four heading into the fourth.