Alperen Sengun's Speech Inspires Rockets' Win vs. LeBron, Lakers amid Kevin Durant's Injury
Star center Alperen Sengun knew the Houston Rockets needed someone to step up as a leader after star forward Kevin Durant was ruled out of Sunday's Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Sengun gathered the Rockets after morning shootaround to deliver a fiery speech to help motivate his teammates as they faced elimination. The moment paid dividends, as Houston was able to keep its season alive with a 115-96 win on Sunday to cut the series deficit to 3-1.
"He was just letting us know he didn't want to go home," Rockets forward Amen Thompson said of Sengun's speech after scoring a team-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting against the Lakers. "I was proud of him just taking that leadership role and just pulling us all back in there and being like, 'This is not how we end it. If we go out, we're going to go out and fight, but we're not thinking about going out.'"
Sengun, who added 19 points as the young Rockets team avoided a four-game sweep, said, "I didn't give up on this series and I just wanted to let everybody know. I'm glad it worked and everybody came out to play today. Hopefully everybody's mindset has changed going into a fifth game."
The Turkish-born Sengun had used an interpreter to communicate earlier in his NBA career, but he said he felt comfortable enough with his English to take over as a leader when the team needed it the most.
"I think [Jae'Sean] Tate and me is the only guys left from the rebuild," Sengun said. "And I think this is my team, so I need to take care of everybody. I'm ready for anything for them. And I know they're ready for it, too. I will do anything for them. They will do anything for me. So the end of the day, when I know this, I will do anything. Talk, fight, do something and show them. And I'm just glad they hear me. After the talk today, Amen was telling me that it really motivated [him]. And then I was like, my English was good? [I] messed up one point. He said, 'I don't care. I still understand you.' So I was happy they understood me."
The Rockets will try to continue following Sengun's lead while hoping to climb back into the series when they face the Lakers in Wednesday's Game 5 in Los Angeles.
