NBA Notes: Rockets, Kevin Durant, Sixers, Tyrese Maxey, Nets

Rockets

Houston still doesn’t have Fred VanVleet, but you wouldn’t know it by watching the offense. The Rockets are sitting atop the league in offensive rating at 123.4, and it hasn’t looked fluky for a single night.

Kevin Durant has been everything they hoped for and a little more. Alperen Sengun keeps taking another step, another leap, another grown-man jump.

And as William Guillory of The Athletic noted, the chemistry between those two is already one of the league’s best stories.

Durant told Guillory he’s never played with a big who can “dominate in the post” the way Sengun does. Sengun countered by saying he’s “never played with so much space” thanks to all the attention KD draws. That’s what you call a partnership.

With VanVleet out, Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard have handled more responsibility, but the Rockets run plenty of offense through Sengun. He’s basically a point center these days, averaging 7.4 assists, catching doubles, and spraying out passes while Houston shoots just under 49 percent as a team.

“We know teams are going to go after Kevin,” coach Ime Udoka said. “Alpi in the pocket is a great decision-maker. We invite the double-teams. It opens up shots for everyone else. The chemistry between those guys is really growing.”

The Rockets visit the Cavaliers on Wednesday night for their lone stop in Cleveland.

76ers

With Paul George and Joel Embiid still working their way back, the Sixers are leaning heavily on Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe.

The numbers tell the story, as Maxey leads the NBA at 40.4 minutes per game, Edgecombe is at 37.3.

Coach Nick Nurse said he’s addressed the workload with both players, and both gave him the same answer: keep going.

“They’re on board,” Nurse said, via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Whenever these guys come back, we’ll welcome them with open arms. Until then, let’s stay focused on doing what needs to be done.”

Nets

Nic Claxton is back to being Nic Claxton. He blocked four shots in Sunday’s win over Washington and now has at least one block in nine straight games after opening the year with zero in his first four.

“Just getting back to myself,” Claxton said. “The timing is coming back. I’ve been feeling good on the defensive side of the ball.”

Claxton is in Year 2 of his four-year, $97 million deal.

• Rookie guard Ben Saraf sprained his left ankle while playing for the Long Island Nets. He’ll be reevaluated in 10 days, per C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News. Saraf began the season as the NBA club’s starting point guard but shot just 21.7 percent in his first five games and fell out of the rotation before his G League assignment.

• The Nets may be bad, but so are plenty of other teams. As Brian Lewis of the New York Post wrote, even with only two wins, there are three clubs with worse records — not ideal for a franchise eyeing a draft headlined by Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa.