The Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 122-113 in their preseason opener at Toyota Center on Monday. Houston held a 24-23 lead after the first quarter and pushed it to 64-60 by halftime.
The Rockets added a 30-26 third quarter for a 94-86 cushion. Atlanta responded with a 27-28 fourth period but fell short.
Alperen Sengun topped Houston scorers with 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 17 minutes. He collected five rebounds and six assists.
JD Davison led the bench with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Davison made five of seven threes.
Amen Thompson added 11 points with three assists and two rebounds. Thompson shot 4-of-9 from the field.
Tari Eason contributed 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. Eason went 5-of-8 overall.
Houston shot 48.1% from the field. The Rockets hit 14 of 34 threes at 41.2%.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker paced Atlanta with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He made three of six threes.
Onyeka Okongwu scored 11 points with one rebound from the bench. Okongwu shot 4-of-8.
Jalen Johnson tallied 11 points with two steals and two blocks. Johnson finished 5-of-8 from the field.
Trae Young recorded nine points and eight assists. Young shot 3-of-7.
Houston outscored Atlanta 64-48 in the paint. The Rockets outrebounded the Hawks 53-34, including 12-10 on offensive boards.
Atlanta committed 13 turnovers. The Hawks lost the ball six times in the first half.
Houston forced 13 miscues from the visitors. The Rockets converted them into 14 points.
Houston’s reserves outscored Atlanta’s 67-39. Players like Davison provided scoring punch.
Houston scored 37 points off extended possessions. The team added six steals for transition plays.
Zaccharie Risacher finished with nine points and two steals for Atlanta. The Hawks shot 44.0% from the field.
