Alperen Şengün's two-way game, vintage Marcus Smart highlight Houston Rockets' win over Boston Celtics

Marcus Smart was at his annoying best in pestering his old Celtics squad in the Rockets' win over Boston on Monday night. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle) Alperen Şengün wanted one possession to prove himself. For the first chunk of Monday night's contest, the Houston Rockets doubled Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum whenever Boston brought Şengün into the action. The aggressive defense allowed the Celtics to spray the ball around and get open 3-pointers. At some point in the game, Şengün said he asked coach Ime Udoka for one chance to switch on Tatum and see if he could contain the four-time All-NBA first team selection one-on-one. Rockets guard Marcus Smart, Tatum's former teammate, gave Şengün some backup and Udoka agreed.Şengün held up quite well and the Rockets clamped down on the visiting Celtics in a 109-93 win at Toyota Center. Boston shot just 38.6% from the field and 28.6% from deep. Tatum finished with 19 points but shot 5-for-16 - he added nine assists but with five turnovers, smacking a hand sanitizer stand in frustration as he walked off the court. Jayson Tatum was PISSED after losing to the Rockets 😳 https://t.co/4wWtDCEsLE- BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) November 3, 2026Şengün contributed on both ends as the Rockets improved to 7-1. He scored 26 points on 80% shooting and had seven rebounds, ten assists, two steals and two blocks. Only one other center in NBA or BAA history met or exceeded those numbers in a single game: Şengün against Chicago last season, per Sports Reference."Playing elite basketball," Kevin Durant said. "He's a two-time All-Star, so at this point, it's no surprise to me."Smart's emotional night At Rockets media day, Smart remarked how thankful he was to be on the same side as Durant, getting to watch the superstar forward's shot go in rather than worry about defending him. The feeling is mutual.Durant said after Monday's win that he's happy to have Smart on his team after the veteran guard offered a quintessential Smart performance in a win over his former squad."Hated playing against him," Durant said, "But I see why everybody loves him as a teammate."Smart drew multiple offensive fouls, performed his signature kip-up to get off the floor, got two steals and, even on an off shooting night, hit back-to-back 3s - sticking double middle fingers into the air after both shots."Just a lot of pent-up emotions," Smart said of the celebration. "Plus, certain guys on the (Boston) bench was talking … so I let them hear it right back."Smart said "you always want to do good against your former team and show them that you can still go out there and do what you do." Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka talks with Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first half of game action against the Boston Celtics at the Toyota Center in Houston on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle) The Durant effectIn the second half of the win, Durant and Udoka had a spirited discussion centering around how the forward and teammates reacted to a hyper-aggressive Celtics defense. Boston, trying to limit Durant's all-world ability to score, double-teamed and denied the 38-year-old all night. He scored 12 points on just six shot attempts - just the second time in his career that he's taken six or fewer shots while playing at least 30 minutes, per Sports Reference. The Rockets feasted off the additional attention he drew, shooting 54.4% from the field and 40% on threes. Here's a retelling of the discussion from Udoka."We need more movement from him and the guys who are in the plays," Udoka said. "We know teams are going to deny him and we want him to be a little bit more active there as well as the guys, play with more pace to set the screens and swing the ball and get to our actions." … I wanted movement and he's like, ‘They're denying me' and ‘Let the other guys go to work.''ROCKETS 109, CELTICS 93FGFTRebBOSTONMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTSScheierman26:574-90-02-52211Tatum32:175-168-80-69419Queta25:466-73-44-61216Gonzalez15:563-60-03-3016White29:453-120-00-2307Pritchard30:200-74-61-3314Hauser18:561-60-01-2112Garza17:314-92-21-30114Robinson15:132-20-01-4044Walsh12:142-40-00-3025Harper Jr.6:330-30-00-1100Conley3:351-10-00-0013Cenac Jr.2:291-10-00-0002Mitchell2:290-00-00-0000Totals240:0032-8317-2013-38201993Percentages: FG .386, FT .850.3-Point Goals: 12-42, .286 (Garza 4-7, Scheierman 3-6, Conley 1-1, Queta 1-1, Walsh 1-2, White 1-5, Tatum 1-7, Gonzalez 0-1, Harper Jr. 0-2, Hauser 0-5, Pritchard 0-5).Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 1.Blocked Shots: 2 (Conley, Garza).Turnovers: 15 (Tatum 5, White 3, Robinson 2, Scheierman 2, Conley, Pritchard, Queta).Steals: 6 (Gonzalez, Hauser, Pritchard, Scheierman, Tatum, White).Technical Fouls: None.FGFTRebHOUSTONMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTSDurant32:435-62-30-33212Smith Jr.36:085-100-02-100014Sengun37:4412-151-23-710426Thompson25:105-94-51-33414VanVleet26:523-90-00-2938Eason26:575-80-00-43313Smart19:442-102-22-4448Sheppard16:313-70-00-1108Tshiebwe7:272-20-11-1014Bogdanovic5:170-10-00-0100Crawford2:030-00-00-0010Tate1:420-10-00-1000Thornton1:421-10-00-0002Totals240:0043-799-139-363422109Percentages: FG .544, FT .692.3-Point Goals: 14-35, .400 (Smith Jr. 4-5, Eason 3-6, Sheppard 2-4, Smart 2-8, VanVleet 2-8, Sengun 1-2, Bogdanovic 0-1, Tate 0-1).Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 1.Blocked Shots: 5 (Eason 2, Sengun 2, Durant).Turnovers: 13 (Durant 4, Eason 2, Smart 2, Thompson 2, Sengun, Sheppard, VanVleet).Steals: 8 (Durant 2, Sengun 2, Smart 2, Thompson, VanVleet).Technical Fouls: None.Boston29212320-93Houston29282527-109A_18,055 (18,500).Durant has already taken 10 or fewer shots in four games this season. His career high is seven. I asked about the low shot attempts, trying to get into a question about how he finds the balance between using the double-teams to free up teammates while not letting himself be taken out of the game as a scorer, but Durant cut me off. "Why does it matter to you? … Why are you singling me out?" he asked. Eventually, he said that his presence on the court frees up others whether he has the ball or not."My presence alone is impactful to the game of basketball," he said. "I don't have to shoot. I don't have to dribble. Just me being out there is going to cause a reaction on defense and my team is taking advantage of it."Durant's reduced usage in the early season is an indication of how much better equipped Houston's roster is to punish teams for those aggressive schemes. As Smart said - if teams want to dare other Rockets to beat them, they'll do it. At the same time, Udoka said the Rockets still want Durant to be aggressive getting the ball and shooting - the coach said he needs to do a better job of putting Durant in spots to avoid double-teams.  "I know he gets frustrated (with physical defense and double teams) at times but we got to stay the course and understand what's good for the team but also keep him engaged and keep him moving," Udoka said. "… I got to do a better job finding that balance."SubscribeThere’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Alperen Şengün's two-way game, vintage Marcus Smart highlight Houston Rockets' win over Boston Celtics.