After a tough overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Houston Rockets looked to get back on track Monday night as they hosted the New York Knicks at the Toyota Center.

Star center Alperen Şengün has had tough games for Houston over the past few games, even coming off the bench in the fourth quarter against the Warriors.

He was determined to get back on track Monday night as he went into attack mode early, hitting the post and hitting easy hook shots to quickly get the Rockets into a rhythm. Şengün’s assertiveness put Knicks’ star center Karl-Anthony Towns in big trouble early in the game, allowing Houston to get everything it wanted in the first half.

Star guard Jalen Green had been great for the Rockets all season, putting up career numbers through the first six games of the season, but struggled early against New York.

Despite his first-half struggles, Green is the person Houston turned to when it needed to pull away in the fourth quarter. With less than a minute to go and the Rockets leading by just five points, they put the ball in the hands of the young guard. The Knicks did what they could to get the ball out of Green’s hands, even sending a double-team, but Green shot a three from the wing right over two defenders and froze the game.

Houston then pulled away with a win over New York, 109-97.

Şengün made his presence felt on Monday evening. He played very physical in the paint and continually created offense as Green struggled for most of the game. The young big man scored 25 points and added 14 rebounds to help the Rockets to a win against the Knicks.

Veteran guard Fred VanVleet also had a rebounding game Monday night. He struggled offensively to start the 2024-25 NBA season, but delivered an efficient performance on a night when Houston really needed it, scoring 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting.

The Rockets will now turn their eyes to Wednesday night as they take on their arch-rivals the San Antonio Spurs at the Toyota Center.

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