The Houston Rockets have looked like one of the best teams in the NBA through the first few games of the 2026-27 season. Their hot start to the new campaign continued on Monday, as they rode a strong night from Alperen Sengun to defeat the Atlanta Hawks for the second straight time, taking a 120-110 victory at home.
Sengun had his way with the Hawks' overmatched frontline. He put up 29 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, and he also was his peak disruptive self on defense, adding six thefts as well to what was already such a stacked stat line. By putting up that kind of performance in the Rockets' latest win, he joined Nikola Jokic as the only centers in NBA history to reach those numbers in a single game, according to StatMuse on X.
It sure looks like playing alongside a legitimate floor general in Fred VanVleet is making Sengun's life easier. He can catch the ball along the high post instead of having to go through hoops just to get the ball in good post position, and the burden to organize the offense no longer falls solely on his shoulders.
It's not a coincidence at all that Sengun's biggest scoring performances of the season have come with VanVleet on the active roster. When VanVleet was out due to load management during their first matchup against the Hawks back on Saturday, Sengun scored just 17 points — his lowest tally of the season thus far.
Article Continues BelowEverything is humming for the Rockets at the moment, and the clean bill of health for most of the team's core players is enabling this level of play from Sengun. On the season, he is averaging 24.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.8 steals on 58/66/77 shooting splits.
The Rockets will look to make it five wins in a row on Wednesday when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks on the road at 8:00 PM E.T.