Rockets' Alperen Sengun Hits Career Milestone in Win vs. Kings

Houston's All-Star center achieved an impressive career feat in Wednesday night's win over Sacramento.

Dec 3, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) handles the ball against Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets' 121-95 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night was extremely impressive on both ends. Coming off a road loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday, they were looking to bounce back, and they did with a two-way masterclass.

The Kings shot just 41% from the field and 29% from three, while the Rockets posted 53-32-83 splits. Down by one point at halftime, Houston turned it up in the final two quarters, outscoring Sacramento 70-43.

Much of the Rockets' production to finish the game can be attributed to their two All-Stars: Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.

Durant recorded 13 points and three assists in 16 second-half minutes, while Sengun went off for 20 points in 14 minutes. The two would combine for 52 points and 11 assists for the game.

While Durant is now four points shy of surpassing 31,000 career points, Sengun hit his own milestone, notching his 5,000th career point in the win. The Turkish center put up 28 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals in just 30 minutes of action.

After the game, Sengun was asked about the achievement and what it means to accomplish it. He said that he only heard about it after the game, but was proud nonetheless, striving for more of them in the future.

"I just heard about that. It hopefully means more to come," Sengun said. "I can put my name next to those legends out there.

"I didn't even hear it until after I lifted after the game."

Sengun and Durant have been catalysts in Houston's top offensive and defensive ratings. The Rockets are averaging 121.7 points per game while holding opponents to just 110.3. The 95 points scored by the Kings was the second-lowest Houston has held another team, only behind 92 points to the Phoenix Suns in a win on Nov. 24.

Sengun was also asked about what he has seen from his development with the Rockets, and whether or not he expected his rise to be so quick.

"We just all work, man. All the work I'm putting in this summer, I just get the results in the season," Sengun said. "I'm a hard worker, I want to win all the time, that's my personality. That's just what comes with it."

The 23-year-old's feat is even more impressive when you consider that he's just the third youngest player to reach 5,000 points, 2,500 rebounds and 1,000 assists. The other two? LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.