Josh Christopher #9 of the Houston Rockets hugs Alperen Sengun #28 during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Toyota Center on February 02, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
Alperen Sengun scored 16 of his career-high 27 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Houston Rockets completed a two-game sweep of the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers with a 115-98 victory on Saturday.
Jalen Green made six 3-pointers and finished with 25 points for Houston (20-55), which beat the Blazers 125-106 in the front end of the back-to-back on Friday. Christian Wood scored 13 points, KJ Martin and Dennis Schroder had 10 apiece, and Kevin Porter Jr. added 10 points and 11 assists.
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Trendon Watford led Portland with 15 points and 10 rebounds before exiting in the fourth quarter with a left leg injury. Brandon Williams scored 15 points, Keon Johnson and Drew Eubanks added 14 apiece and Ben McLemore had 11.
Eubanks grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds for the Blazers (27-47), who have lost 13 out of 15 games since the All-Star break.
The Rockets led by seven at the start of the fourth quarter and used a 10-2 run to move ahead 103-90 on Sengun’s 3-pointer with 5:31 remaining.
Sengun, who finished 10-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds, drilled a 3-pointer with 3:50 left to put the Rockets comfortably ahead at 108-93.
Johnson made a career-high four 3-pointers for Portland, which allowed the Rockets to shoot 52.4 percent from the field and 15 of 35 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
Houston, which owns the league’s worst record, outscored Portland 30-20 in the fourth quarter and recorded its first two-game winning streak since Jan. 16 and 19.
Portland opened on a strong note after trailing by 18 points in the first quarter in Friday’s loss. The Blazers held a 28-24 lead after shooting 52.4 percent in the first period on Saturday.
The teams were tied at 60 following a tight first half that featured 22 ties or lead changes. Green scored 11 points in the half for the Rockets.
Portland was without eight injured players, including Josh Hart, Damian Lillard, Nassir Little, Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons and Justise Winslow.
The Blazers were also without Greg Brown III after the forward exited in the first quarter with a left eye contusion and did not return.