INDIANAPOLIS -- — Alperen Sengun matched his season high with 39 points, and Jabari Smith Jr. added 19 to help the short-handed Houston Rockets overcome the absence of All-Star forward Kevin Durant to beat the Indiana Pacers 118-114 on Monday.

Durant sat out, coach Ime Udoka said, after spraining his left ankle when he stepped on a fan's foot. The Rockets already were missing center Steven Adams, who is expected to miss the rest of this season following surgery on his injured left ankle, so Sengun did the heavy lifting.

He made 13 of 25 from the field and 13 of 18 from the free-throw line including 8 of 12 during the fourth quarter and grabbed 16 rebounds. Houston won its third straight, got its fifth victory in six games and captured its third straight on the road.

All-Star forward Pascal Siakam finished with 27 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 25 to lead the Pacers, who charged back from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter to take the lead. But they didn't have quite enough to extend their winning streak to a season-best three straight.

Initially, the healthier Pacers took advantage of Houston's missing pieces.

They controlled most of the first half before allowing Houston to charge back with a 17-4 spurt late. And when replay review waved off what appeared to be Siakam's buzzer-beating 3-pointer, Indiana was staring at a 63-56 halftime deficit.

Houston continued pulling away early in the second half, using a 12-5 run to build a 75-63 lead. Indiana answered with nine straight points then retook the lead, 81-79, lead on a nifty pass from Jarace Walker to Siakam on a fast break with 2:27 left in the third quarter.

It remained essentially a one or two possession game until Sengun's free throws fueled Houston's late 12-2 run to make it 109-101 with 4:59 to go.

Up next

Rockets: Head home to host Boston on Wednesday night.

Pacers: Welcome Utah to Indianapolis on Tuesday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Alperen Sengun vs. Jay Huff (Aaron Nesmith gains possession)	0	0
11:45	Andrew Nembhard lost ball turnover (Amen Thompson steals)	0	0
11:40	Alperen Sengun misses running layup	0	0
11:36	Tari Eason offensive rebound	0	0
11:25	Alperen Sengun makes 2-foot two point shot (Jabari Smith Jr. assists)	0	2
11:17	Tari Eason blocks Aaron Nesmith 's 6-foot driving floating jump shot	0	2
11:14	Tari Eason defensive rebound	0	2
11:12	Jabari Smith Jr. misses 26-foot running jump shot	0	2
11:08	Johnny Furphy defensive rebound	0	2
10:56	Andrew Nembhard lost ball turnover (Reed Sheppard steals)	0	2
10:53	Reed Sheppard makes 2-foot running dunk (Amen Thompson assists)	0	4
10:36	Jay Huff makes 24-foot three point jumper (Pascal Siakam assists)	3	4
10:09	Jabari Smith Jr. makes 8-foot fade away jump shot (Amen Thompson assists)	3	6
9:59	Pascal Siakam misses driving layup	3	6
9:55	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	3	6
9:48	Reed Sheppard misses 30-foot three point jumper	3	6
9:46	Johnny Furphy defensive rebound	3	6
9:38	Andrew Nembhard makes 26-foot three pointer (Johnny Furphy assists)	6	6
9:14	Alperen Sengun misses 5-foot two point shot	6	6
9:10	Alperen Sengun offensive rebound	6	6
9:10	Alperen Sengun makes tip shot	6	8
8:50	Aaron Nesmith makes 26-foot three pointer (Pascal Siakam assists)	9	8
8:36	Tari Eason misses 26-foot three point jumper	9	8
8:34	Jay Huff defensive rebound	9	8
8:24	Jabari Smith Jr. shooting foul	9	8
8:24	Andrew Nembhard makes free throw 1 of 2	10	8
8:24	Andrew Nembhard makes free throw 2 of 2	11	8
8:09	Alperen Sengun makes driving layup	11	10
8:09	Jay Huff shooting foul	11	10
8:09	Isaiah Jackson enters the game for Jay Huff	11	10
8:09	Alperen Sengun makes free throw 1 of 1	11	11
8:00	Andrew Nembhard misses 28-foot three point step back jumpshot	11	11
7:57	Reed Sheppard defensive rebound	11	11
7:48	Alperen Sengun makes 5-foot layup (Reed Sheppard assists)	11	13
7:29	Andrew Nembhard misses 17-foot pullup jump shot	11	13
7:26	Amen Thompson defensive rebound	11	13
7:21	Alperen Sengun out of bounds bad pass turnover	11	13
7:14	Aaron Nesmith makes 26-foot three point jumper (Andrew Nembhard assists)	14	13
6:52	Isaiah Jackson blocks Alperen Sengun 's 6-foot two point shot	14	13
6:50	Isaiah Jackson defensive rebound	14	13
6:49	Isaiah Jackson out of bounds bad pass turnover	14	13
6:49	Pacers Full timeout	14	13
6:49	Bennedict Mathurin enters the game for Johnny Furphy	14	13
6:49	Jarace Walker enters the game for Pascal Siakam	14	13
6:49	Dorian Finney-Smith enters the game for Jabari Smith Jr.	14	13
6:49	Josh Okogie enters the game for Reed Sheppard	14	13
6:30	Alperen Sengun makes 11-foot two point shot	14	15
6:03	Bennedict Mathurin misses 21-foot floating jump shot	14	15
6:00	Tari Eason defensive rebound	14	15
5:52	Tari Eason misses driving floating jump shot	14	15
5:49	Aaron Nesmith defensive rebound	14	15
5:43	Bennedict Mathurin makes 20-foot running pullup jump shot (Aaron Nesmith assists)	16	15
5:21	Amen Thompson misses driving layup	16	15
5:19	Isaiah Jackson defensive rebound	16	15
5:16	Bennedict Mathurin misses 25-foot running jump shot	16	15
5:12	Amen Thompson defensive rebound	16	15
4:56	Tari Eason makes 24-foot three point jumper (Alperen Sengun assists)	16	18
4:39	Aaron Nesmith makes 5-foot driving floating jump shot (Bennedict Mathurin assists)	18	18
4:18	Alperen Sengun misses 18-foot two point shot	18	18
4:15	Jarace Walker defensive rebound	18	18
4:06	Aaron Nesmith misses 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	18	18
4:03	Amen Thompson defensive rebound	18	18
4:00	Amen Thompson out of bounds bad pass turnover	18	18
4:00	T.J. McConnell enters the game for Andrew Nembhard	18	18
4:00	Ben Sheppard enters the game for Aaron Nesmith	18	18
4:00	Reed Sheppard enters the game for Amen Thompson	18	18
4:00	Clint Capela enters the game for Alperen Sengun	18	18
3:47	T.J. McConnell makes 17-foot pullup jump shot (Bennedict Mathurin assists)	20	18
3:31	Reed Sheppard bad pass turnover (Jarace Walker steals)	20	18
3:25	Jarace Walker makes two point shot (Ben Sheppard assists)	22	18
3:08	Clint Capela misses 10-foot two point shot	22	18
3:05	Bennedict Mathurin defensive rebound	22	18
2:57	T.J. McConnell misses 13-foot fade away jump shot	22	18
2:55	Tari Eason defensive rebound	22	18
2:40	Tari Eason misses two point shot	22	18
2:37	Bennedict Mathurin defensive rebound	22	18
2:32	Jarace Walker makes 21-foot running pullup jump shot (Bennedict Mathurin assists)	24	18
2:30	Rockets Full timeout	24	18
2:30	Jay Huff enters the game for Isaiah Jackson	24	18
2:30	Jabari Smith Jr. enters the game for Tari Eason	24	18
2:07	Dorian Finney-Smith makes 2-foot alley oop dunk (Clint Capela assists)	24	20
1:58	Bennedict Mathurin makes driving layup	26	20
1:35	Jabari Smith Jr. misses 25-foot three point jumper	26	20
1:32	Jarace Walker defensive rebound	26	20
1:26	T.J. McConnell misses 11-foot fade away jump shot	26	20
1:21	Dorian Finney-Smith defensive rebound	26	20
1:19	Jay Huff shooting foul	26	20
1:19	Clint Capela makes free throw 1 of 2	26	21
1:19	Isaiah Jackson enters the game for Jay Huff	26	21
1:19	Amen Thompson enters the game for Josh Okogie	26	21
1:19	Clint Capela makes free throw 2 of 2	26	22
1:05	Amen Thompson blocks T.J. McConnell 's 10-foot pullup jump shot	26	22
1:01	Clint Capela defensive rebound	26	22
58.1	Reed Sheppard misses 31-foot three point jumper	26	22
54.8	Jabari Smith Jr. offensive rebound	26	22
47.3	Reed Sheppard misses 16-foot pullup jump shot	26	22
43.5	Clint Capela offensive rebound	26	22
38.6	Clint Capela lost ball turnover (Isaiah Jackson steals)	26	22
28.1	Bennedict Mathurin misses driving floating jump shot	26	22
24.7	Isaiah Jackson offensive rebound	26	22
24.7	Isaiah Jackson makes two point shot	28	22
3.1	Reed Sheppard makes 10-foot pullup jump shot	28	24
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	28	24

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Indianapolis, IN

Date & Time

12:00 AM, February 3, 2026

Coverage

Space City Home Network, NBA League Pass, FanDuel SN IN

Attendance

16,511

Referees

Pat Fraher, Brent Barnaky, Natalie Sago

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	36	16	.692	W4
Houston	32	19	.627	W1
Memphis	20	31	.392	L2
Dallas	19	33	.365	L7
New Orleans	14	40	.259	W1

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Detroit	38	13	.745	W1
Cleveland	32	21	.604	W3
Chicago	24	29	.453	L4
Milwaukee	21	29	.420	W3
Indiana	13	40	.245	L4

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Alperen Sengun scores 39 to help Rockets overcome Kevin Durant's absence and beat Pacers 118-114

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