{"id":535801,"date":"2026-01-14T10:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T10:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/535801\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T10:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T10:12:16","slug":"sengun-orchestrates-late-surge-as-rockets-snap-skid-vs-bulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/535801\/","title":{"rendered":"\u015eeng\u00fcn orchestrates late surge as Rockets snap skid vs Bulls"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn delivered a masterclass in control and composure, and Houston finally closed tight moments, as the Rockets outlasted the Chicago Bulls 119-113 on Tuesday night to snap a three-game losing streak.<\/p>\n<p>\u015eeng\u00fcn posted a near triple-double with 23 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and a block in 36 minutes, anchoring Houston\u2019s offense with poise while directing traffic in a game that swung relentlessly.<\/p>\n<p>The Rockets improved to their 23rd win of the season, surviving a contest that featured 35 lead changes and 19 ties without either side ever reaching a double-digit advantage.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Durant led Houston in scoring with 28 points and added 10 rebounds, while Amen Thompson matched \u015eeng\u00fcn\u2019s scoring output with 23 points and went a flawless 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.<\/p>\n<p>But the decisive blows came from Jabari Smith Jr., who scored 18 points and authored the defining stretch late.<\/p>\n<p>Smith drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:52 remaining to give Houston a 108-106 edge, then followed with a pull-up jumper and another triple to push the lead to seven with 1:27 to play. Chicago never recovered.<\/p>\n<p>Houston briefly carved out early momentum behind consecutive 3-pointers from rookie Reed Sheppard, sparking a 10-0 first-quarter run.<\/p>\n<p>But the Bulls answered with energy and efficiency, closing the opening frame with a Kevin Huerter steal and buzzer-beating 3 to trim the deficit.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago seized its largest lead early in the second quarter and went into halftime up 60-57, capitalizing on second-chance points and Houston turnovers.<\/p>\n<p>The seesaw nature continued after the break, with neither team able to break free until Smith\u2019s late surge settled matters.<\/p>\n<p>The Bulls, playing without guards Josh Giddey and Coby White, were carried by Tre Jones, who poured in a career-high 34 points on 11-of-12 shooting.<\/p>\n<p>Rookie Matas Buzelis added 19 points, 15 of them after halftime, while Jalen Smith and Nikola Vucevic chipped in 14 apiece as Chicago fell to its 21st loss.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers overwhelmed the Atlanta Hawks 141-116 at home, earning their 24th win of the season.<\/p>\n<p>LeBron James flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Luka Doncic added 27 points and 12 assists to fuel Los Angeles\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n<p>Atlanta dropped its 22nd game despite 26 points from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and 25 from C.J. McCollum.<\/p>\n<p>                    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/JN9LXf.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n                    The Daily Sabah Newsletter\n                <\/p>\n<p>\n                    Keep up to date with what\u2019s happening in Turkey,<br \/>\n                    it\u2019s region and the world.\n                <\/p>\n<p>                    SIGN ME UP\n                <\/p>\n<p>\n                    You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.<br \/>\n                    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.\n                <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn delivered a masterclass in control and composure, and Houston finally closed tight moments, as the Rockets&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3771],"tags":[1307,7,920,919,329,3824,194,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-535801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bulls","8":"tag-alperen-sengun","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-bulls","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-bulls","13":"tag-chicagobulls","14":"tag-houston-rockets","15":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115892922541623256","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}