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The Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, but the victory came at a price.
Strongman Alperen Şengün injured his leg while contesting a Domantas Sabonis shot in transition and was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. ESPN Adrien Wojnarowski noted that he landed on his left leg, which left him “writhing in pain.”
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Alperen Sengun was taken to the locker room after an apparent leg injury
I hope he is well ???? pic.twitter.com/SauGnnZZ1n
The play occurred in the last minute of the match.
Şengün finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals while shooting 7 of 14 from the field in the 112-104 victory. He was one of seven Rockets players to score in double figures, including Fred VanVleet (22 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals).
Sabonis led the way in the Kings’ defeat with a double-double of 25 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks.
While it was an important win for a Rockets team that was trying to make up ground in the Western Conference play-in tournament race, the injury overshadowed the result from their perspective.
Şengün has been excellent this season and came into play averaging 21.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per night while shooting 53.7 percent from the field.
His breakout effort at age 21 is one reason there’s long-term optimism in Houston, even though he’s been relatively inconsistent this season. Even with Sunday’s win, they remain just 29-35 on the campaign and 4.5 games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Closing this deficit will be even more difficult without Şengün if he is forced to lose significant time due to this setback.
