Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant Are Already Showing They Will Be Hard Duo to Stop

The Houston Rockets have kicked off the 2025 preseason with a 2-0 record after wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz. The Rockets were coming off an exciting offseason that saw them trade for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, transforming the Team from a feel-good story to a championship contender.

Fans around the NBA were excited to see Durant debut with the Rockets vs the Hawks, but it was put on hold as Durant was ruled out right before the start of the Rockets' matchup with the Hawks. The Rockets would still go on to win their preseason opener as Alperen Sengun dominated with 19 points and six assists in only half a work on the court.

Ime Udoka announced that Durant would play in Game 2 against the Jazz as the Rockets closed out their preseason home schedule. Anticipation was high, especially when the game began, as everyone eagerly awaited Durant's first basket as a Rocket. That moment did take a while as Durant missed his first three shots, but that third miss was his last of the game as Durant would make his last seven shots on his way to 20 points in three quarters of work.

Besides making seven shots in a row, another thing that stood out from Durant's debut was how efficient he was, specifically in two-person actions with Sengun. Udoka made it a point to have Durant and Sengun operating on the same side of the court on offense, which caused issues for the Jazz defense because they couldn't double-team both star players.

The two plays in the video below show the gravity of Sengun and how he draws defenders away from Durant, which makes his already elite offense stand out even more.

Two perfect examples how teams will have a hard time stopping the Sengun and Durant two man game.

The first play Nurkic dies not want to leave Sengun which opens up the lane for Durant.

The second play shows the gravity that Sengun has which leads to a wide open 3 for Durant. pic.twitter.com/qeVUWWjaNl
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) October 9, 2025

Especially on the second play, as both defenders are so worried about Sengun scoring that they leave one of the best offensive players of all time wide open for a shootaround 3-pointer. Durant spoke after the game about his Rockets debut, how it felt to be on the court with his new teammates, and how Sengun makes his game easier and vice versa.

Rockets on SI asked Durant about the two-man game between himself and Sengun and how it poses issues to opposing teams' defenses.

“So now I’m seeing they might deny me face guard, he gets more space to go to work, and vice versa," Durant said.

I asked KD what issues does it cause defenses having him and Alperen on the same side of the court on the offensive end.

“So now I’m seeing they might deny me face guard me he gets more space to go to work and vice versa. pic.twitter.com/KVBp5SQCAm
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) October 9, 2025

Keep in mind, it has only been one game, and you can already see how dominant Sengun and Durant can be on the court together. Of course, you can't always take too much from a preseason game, but both Sengun and especially Durant have shown that the dominance they showed in the win over the Jazz on Wednesday should translate to any time of the year.

The Rockets won't be back in action until the 14th as they have several days off before their final two preseason games of 2025.