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The Houston Rockets ended the Denver Nuggets' six-game winning streak with a 115-101 victory at Ball Arena on Friday, with Turkish center Alperen Sengun contributing 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 31 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while Reed Sheppard added 28 points and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22 as Houston claimed its 17th win of the season.
Nikola Jokic's 25 points and Jamal Murray's 16 were not enough to prevent Denver's seventh loss of the season.
Sengun, who is averaging 23.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game this season, played 30 minutes in Friday's victory, shooting 4-of-9 from the field.
The 23-year-old Turkish international has been one of the standout performers in the NBA this season, putting himself in the conversation among the league's elite centers.
In his last five games, Sengun has posted 22 points and 10 rebounds against the LA Clippers, 33 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Denver on Dec. 15, and 28 points and 11 rebounds against New Orleans.
Alperen Sengun recently addressed trade rumors surrounding him in a YouTube interview, saying he is unfazed by the speculation.
"I wasn't worried at all. This may or may not happen. I'm having a great season. I don't think anything can affect me right now; especially, social media doesn't affect me at all," Sengun said.
"If something is going to happen, it happens. But I think they trust me and I give my heart to this team," he added.
The Turkish center said one of his goals is to be among the NBA's top 15 players.
"One of my goals is to be among the top 15 players in the NBA. I'm working on this all summer. Winning, being on a winning team, competing in every game. I'm working for this, but before that, I want to win. Other things, like All-Star, All-NBA, and other things, come after that," Sengun noted.
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Sengun was the 16th overall pick by Oklahoma City in the 2021 NBA Draft before his rights were acquired by Houston.
He is the first player in NBA history to record at least 3,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 700 assists while playing fewer than 6,000 minutes through the first three seasons of a career.
In 2023-24, he was one of only six players to average at least 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
In other NBA action featuring Turkish players, Adem Bona came close to a double-double with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 121-114 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 38 points, VJ Edgecombe added 26 and Dominick Barlow scored 21 as Philadelphia claimed its 16th win of the season.
Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg each scored 24 points for Dallas but could not prevent the Mavericks' 18th loss.
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