The short-handed Houston Rockets defeated the Indiana Pacers 118-114, as Alepren Sengun matched his season high with 39 points on Monday night.
Rockets’ Kevin Durant sprained his left ankle when he stepped on a fan’s foot, and center Steven Adams is expected to miss the rest of this season following surgery on his injured left ankle.
Sengun stepped up for Houston, as he made 13 of 25 from the field and 13 of 18 from the free-throw line, including 8 of 12 during the fourth quarter, and grabbed 16 rebounds.
The Rockets won their third straight, got their fifth victory in six games, and captured their third straight on the road.
On the other hand, All-Star forward Pascal Siakam finished with 27 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 25 to lead the Pacers, who charged back from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter to take the lead.
The Pacers took advantage of the short-handed Houston by controlling most of the first half before allowing the Rockets to charge back with a 17-4 spurt late.
Indiana was staring at a 63-56 lead after Siakam’s buzzer-beating three-pointer was waved off.
Houston continued pulling away early in the second half by starting a 12-5 run to build a 75-63 lead.
The Pacers answered with nine straight points, then retook the lead 81-79, but it remained a one or two-possession game until Sengun’s free throws fueled the Rockets’ late 12-2 run to make it 109-101 with 4:59 to go.
The Rockets will host the Celtics at home on Wednesday, while the Pacers host the Jazz on Tuesday.
