SAN ANTONIO — Before Tuesday's San Antonio Spurs-Houston Rockets game, the two teams faced off on Dec. 11 in Houston, with the Rockets coming out on top, 93-82.
However, more than the win was needed for Alperen Segun, who feels he could have played better versus Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama.
In that game, he recorded 15 points (6-12 shooting from the field), nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in 30 minutes.
That was a decent stat line, but more was needed for the Rockets' big man, who used that showing as motivation en route to his career-scoring 45-point outing against Wembanyama.
“Yeah, of course," he said. "You know I didn’t play that good last game against him."
In addition to his 45 points, Sengun tallied 16 rebounds and a career-best five steals. He also had 33 points heading into the fourth quarter.
It was the second time a Rocket had recorded at least 45 points, 15 rebounds, and five steals in a single game.
"I didn’t see that much double team; they (San Antonio) just left me one-on-one with Wemby (Wembanyama), and then I just did what I do."
Sengun threw his body into Wemby throughout the game to minimize any attempts to see his shot blocked by the NBAs' block shots leader.
"He's so tall, really. He's really tall, but he's not that strong yet, so I was going into his chest and put him under the rim," Sengun said. "They didn't double me tonight that much, so I worked under the rim."
It also helped Sengun that Wemby was in foul trouble throughout the game. He carried four fouls and played only six minutes in the second and four in the third periods.
The Spurs center also had a left shoulder injury that may have impacted him against Houston.
However, it should be noted that Wembanyama did put together another double-double and continued to make NBA history against Houston despite having an off night for his standards.
He had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and seven blocks (five on Sengun) against the Rockets and has recorded at least four blocks in the past seven games. This streak is the longest by a rookie since Shaquille O’Neal’s 10-game span from 12/1 to 12/22/92.
The good news is that Wembanyama and the Spurs do not have to wait too long for a measure of revenge against Sengun and the Rockets.
The Spurs and Rockets will meet on March 12 in San Antonio, where Houston is well below .500 on the road.