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After beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-116, Houston Rockets' Tari Eason and teammates celebrated by dancing to rapper Kendrick Lamar's hit song “Not Like Us” Sunday night. Following the Rockets' 122-115 overtime win against the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston captured its third consecutive win. After the game, Eason went live on his Instagram, per RocketsMuse's X, formerly Twitter.
Rockets teammates Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green join the fun while dancing in front of the camera.
Tari Eason and the Rockets improved to 15-6 and are now half a game behind the Thunder for first place in the Western Conference. In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and the Rockets got the last laugh. Houston's backcourt each scored critical shots down the stretch, tying the game at 115 and putting the Rockets ahead for good in the final minute.
VanVleet led with 38 points, Sengun flirted with a triple-double (20 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists), and Brooks added 16 points and seven rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 points), Jalen Williams (22 points, seven assists), and Isaiah Hartenstein (19 points, 13 rebounds) led the Thunder.
Houston avenged its 126-107 loss to Oklahoma City on Nov. 4.
Alperen Sengun flirts with triple-double in win vs. Thunder
After Rockets center Alperen Sengun's triple-double made NBA history in a 117-111 overtime victory against the Timberwolves, he nearly notched another against the Western Conference-leading Thunder. Sengun's 20 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists impacted both ends of the floor in the Rockets' 119-116 victory against the Thunder.
After a slow offensive start, Sengun found his offensive rhythm in the final frame. He scored seven of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, while VanVleet scored a dozen. After the win, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka spoke about Sengun's impact down the stretch.
“They all stick with it, understanding that one good quarter or one good stretch can win you a basketball game. He's kind of been there, done that,” Udoka said. “He's taken over in the last few games late in the Minnesota and Philadelphia games and things like that. So, I think he's accustomed to being in that moment, understanding what we need down the stretch.”
Sengun is averaging 18.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 2024-25. He's also a catalyst for the Rockets' best stretch of the regular season since losing to the Thunder 126-107 on Nov. 8. Since then, the Rockets have won ten of their last 12 contests.
They also made good use of a three-day rest heading into Sunday's matchup before facing the Kings in an NBA Cup matchup on Tuesday.
