Rockets Stay Perfect at 4-0, Beating the Hawks 120-110 Behind Sengun's 29 Points as He Nears a Triple-Double

The Houston Rockets stayed unbeaten at 4-0 on Monday night, beating the Atlanta Hawks 120-110 at Toyota Center behind Alperen Sengun, who finished with 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, according to The Associated Press. Kevin Durant added 22 points, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 16 with a team-high 12 rebounds and five assists. The win finished a two-game sweep of Atlanta in three nights; Houston won 121-114 in Atlanta on Saturday.

Atlanta led 35-32 after the first quarter and 66-63 at halftime, and took a one-point lead midway through the third before Houston answered with nine straight points, five from Sengun, to go up 85-76. The Hawks cut it to 95-93 early in the fourth on a 7-0 run, but the Rockets ripped off 14 straight points, with 3-pointers from Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason, to lead 109-93, then added an 8-0 run to push it to 117-95. Houston outscored Atlanta 57-44 after halftime. Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points and CJ McCollum scored 20; Atlanta fell to 2-2. The announced crowd was 18,055.

Houston won short-handed: guard Marcus Smart (forearm strain) and center Steven Adams (strained leg muscle) each missed a second straight game, and coach Ime Udoka said Adams would be out at least another week, according to the AP.

Houston opens a road trip Wednesday night at Milwaukee — and it will do so without its center. Rockets Wire reported Tuesday that Sengun has been ruled out of the Milwaukee game with lower back soreness and that Adams will also be sidelined, leaving veteran backup Clint Capela in line for extra minutes, while Smart is listed as questionable. Sengun is averaging 24.5 points, nine rebounds and seven assists through four games, according to Rockets Wire.