The Houston Rockets Beat the San Antonio Spurs in a Tightly Contested Game

Alperen Şengün leads the Houston Rockets to their second win of the NBA regular season, as the Rockets defeat the San Antonio Spurs 114-110 on Friday, October 23rd at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Şengün finished the game with 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Şengün seems to be taking yet another leap in his overall effectiveness and is on his way to being an All-Star for the third consecutive year. Maybe the most encouraging improvement in his performance was his free-throw shooting, as he connected on seven out of the eight free throws he attempted.

Amen Thompson had another solid performance, although he showed that his perimeter shooting is still weak, and defenders were able to take advantage of this in the first half as they allowed him free shots from outside the paint. His shooting motion does look improved, and by continuing to work with Chip Engelland, his work in training should translate to increased efficiency.

On the other hand, Thompson continues to display his elite physical prowess and hustle. Not only does his interior scoring continue to be elite, but he is also rebounding at an incredibly high rate, as he accumulated 10 rebounds in this game. Thompson also got a highlight block, denying Victor Wembanyama an easy dunk.

Fred VanVleet continues to be the key that is elevating the offense this season. He is masterful at controlling the tempo and playing passes to players in their preferred shooting spots. Kevin Durant has been a huge beneficiary of this, as his efficiency is improved from last season as he is getting easier looks.

VanVleet dished out five assists while not committing a turnover in a second consecutive game. This moves VanVleet to a jaw-dropping 16 assists without a single turnover to start his return to the NBA. The Houston Rockets were 21st overall in assists last season, but with their new identity they will certainly climb the rankings, and could find themselves in the top 10.

Tari Eason returns to lead the second unit after being ejected in the opening game against Dallas. He outclassed every other bench player in the game, with his speed, physicality, and elite defense. He finished the game with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and a game-high 4 steals.

Wemby did have a bounce-back game after his dud of a performance in the opener, as he dropped 25 points to go along with 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. However, his performance was not enough to give the Spurs their first victory of the season, and San Antonio is now 0-2 and finds itself at the bottom of the Western Conference.

Houston’s impressive performance brings them to 2-0 and to the top of the Western Conference, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Houston will look to keep their momentum going against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, October 24.