On Wednesday evening the Houston Rockets hosted the Golden State Warriors in an final NBA Cup quarterfinal game. It was also the ugliest as both teams built brick houses from the floor in the first half; the Rockets entered the locker room with a 44-37 lead as both teams combined to shoot 41% from the field.
There was one gorgeous play in the second quarter, however, courtesy of Houston star center Alperen ลengรผn. Following a scuffle for a rebound on a Rockets miss, Sengun suddenly found himself with the ball and only Draymond Green between him and the basket. Instead of challenging the Warriors' defensive anchor, Sengun made him look silly and totally faked out the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
The Turkish big man got Green to jump out of his shoes and made a slick no-look pass to teammate Tari Eason for a sweet highlight-reel dunk.
HOW DID SENGUN FIND EASON ๐
Some flashy moves early in this #EmiratesNBACup Quartfinals bout!
๐ GSW-HOU on TNT pic.twitter.com/DgzeF8Oipi
โ NBA (@NBA) December 12, 2024
The goggles celebration to top it off was tremendous as well.
And well-deserved. It's hard to fool Green that badly! He's considered one of the great defenders of this era for a reason, after all.
What a play from Sengun.