HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Kings center Domantas Sabonis torched the Rockets defense on the way to a four-game season-sweep of them last season.
The All-NBA selection averaged 20.8, 11.3 rebounds, and 11 assists against his outmatched opponents, but in showing the progress they've made since then, the Rockets turned the tables against him in two resounding wins over the last three days at Toyota Center, limiting him to 9.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
“We wanted to take away some of his strengths,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said after the Rockets beat the Kings 12-97 on Monday. “I think we did that.”
With De’Aaron Fox unavailable due to a sprained right ankle the Rockets knew Sabonis would be the focal point of the Kings offense, so they would go as he went.
“We scouted him good,” Rockets center Alperen Sengun said. “The team watched a lot of film and other stuff.
“He was tough against us, but now I know a lot of things about him, so I played physical against him and teammates helped me.”
As was the case last season, Sengun spent much of the last two games matched up with Sabonis. He had his moments against him and the Kings a season ago, putting up 14.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists in those four games, but he was thoroughly outplayed by his counterpart. The roles were reversed on this occasion.
The Rockets center scored 16 points, grabbed 8.5 rebounds and dished out 9 assists, which included a 17-point, 12-assist night on Monday, while avoiding the foul trouble that has plagued him in the past, and Sengun says he takes pride in getting the better of one of the NBA’s best centers in back-to-back games.
“De’Aaron Fox was out, so they don’t have much choice (but to play through Sabonis). If you lock him up their whole team is going to have a lot of problems too, so we did a great job against Sabonis.”
What did Sengun’s teammates think of the way he handled the matchup with one of the NBA’s elite centers?
"Amazing," Rockets guard Jalen Green said. "I'm always an Alpi fan. He almost had a triple-double today, and he had a double-double last game, so I think he's doing great, he's just got to keep it going."