Rockets' fourth-year center an icon in his home country, where Turkish fans and politicians support his career.

Amen Thompson had the clutch go-ahead bucket and Dillon Brooks made a franchise record-tying 10 3-pointers in the Rockets' win over the Celtics on Monday.

Nearing real stardom, Şengün reflects on Rockets' belief in him: "Whoever trusts me, or backs me up, I will take care of them all my life."

Nikola Jovic did the same on the road for Miami in Brooklyn, scoring 17 points with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in the Heat ‘s 106-97 road win against the Nets. His countryman Vasilije Micic scored 11 points and shared 4 assists in Charlotte’s 123-92 victory against New Orleans.

The Houston Rockets have made massive strides as a team on the defensive end of the floor, and that can be accredited to players like Amen Thompson and Dillon B

Alperen Şengün is a Turkish professional basketball player born on July 25, 2002, in Giresun, Turkey. He plays as a center for the Houston Rockets in the NBA and represents the Turkish national team.

The Boston Celtics learned the hard way on Monday. The Celtics and Rockets battled in a hard-fought game at Boston's TD Garden. In the end, Thompson sunk the Celtics with a last-second bucket to secure a 114-112 Rockets win.

With the Cavaliers down two points, Darius Garland, their potential All-Star guard and 90 percent free-throw shooter, sat alone at the line with the chance to give Cleveland the lead. Even if he failed to make all three free throws, Cleveland, via a Flagrant One on the Rockets, would have the ball with a chance to seal the game.

The Houston Rockets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-108, behind a strong performance from their veteran guard Fred VanVleet.

Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell combined for 72 points in the defeat, losing three in a row for the first time this season.

Alperen Şengün countered with a dunk on the other end to retake the lead for Houston, setting up Jayson Tatum for an answer on the other end. Tatum took a pass from Kristaps Porziņģis in a half-court set and drove past Thompson for a game-tying layup ...

I’ve got a lot of injuries from (his childhood) — like everywhere,” the 22-year-old Şengün said. “My arms. My knees. I have injuries and scars everywhere from climbing places. A car hit me —