HOUSTON (AP) — Alperen Sengun had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets held on for a 109-97 win over the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Houston led by 15 points early before the Knicks got within one late in the fourth quarter. But Sengun, who was guarded by Karl-Anthony Towns, scored 10 points in the final period to help the Rockets put it away.
Fred VanVleet added 19 points for Houston and Jalen Green had 15.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 29 points and OG Anunoby added 21. Towns had 17 points and a season-high 19 rebounds.
Takeaways
Knicks: New York needs to do a better job of scoring inside with Towns. The Knicks were outscored 62-38 in the paint as their two-game winning streak was snapped.
Rockets: Houston did a good job of getting several players involved offensively. Four starters finished in double figures and Amen Thompson added 12 points off the bench. But they need to find a way to be more consistent throughout games. They squandered a double-digit lead Monday before pulling away late, a game after falling behind by 31 points early before losing to the Warriors in OT Saturday night.
Key moment
The Rockets led by three before a soaring, two-handed dunk by Thompson followed by a 3 from Green made it 105-97 with less than a minute to go.
Key stat
The Rockets won despite making just 8 of 33 3-pointers. Green started out 0 for 6 and was 2 of 8 and VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. each made just 1 of 5 attempts.
Up next
The Knicks visit the Hawks on Wednesday night and the Rockets host the Spurs that night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press
