Tari Eason scored 22 points off the bench while Alperen Sengun added 21 to pace a balanced attack for the Houston Rockets, who thumped the visiting Brooklyn Nets 137-109 on Monday.
Eason scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first half to carry the Rockets until Sengun and others joined the fray following the intermission. Kevin Durant paired 19 points with six rebounds while Reed Sheppard added 15 points and eight assists off the bench for Houston, which shot 57.6% overall and converted 16 of 32 3-pointers.
Amen Thompson (12 points, eight assists), Jabari Smith Jr. (11 points) and Josh Okogie (10 points) helped round out the scoring for the Rockets. Sengun added six rebounds and six assists while Eason tallied five rebounds, five assists and a career-best five 3-pointers.
Terance Mann led the Nets with 21 points while Michael Porter Jr. chipped in 18. That duo shot a combined 16 of 24 from the floor to keep Brooklyn afloat in the first half after the Rockets shackled Cam Thomas, who followed his 40-point effort against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday by missing 6 of 9 shots en route to nine points. Harassed by an array of defenders, Thomas didn’t take his first shot attempt until the 5:28 mark of the second quarter, a 3-pointer.
Mann tallied 10 points by the midpoint of the first quarter and the Nets closed to within 27-25 following back-to-back 3-pointers from Tyrese Martin (11 points) and Day’Ron Sharpe (17 points and 12 rebounds off the bench).
But Houston closed the opening period with a 15-0 run that featured a Sheppard 3-pointer and consecutive Eason 3s. The Rockets extended that run to 18 points and a 45-25 lead early in the second before Porter engineered a comeback with a pair of 3s, a layup and an assist. Thomas had an opportunity to slice that 20-point deficit to seven points with 2:11 left in the first half, but failed to complete a three-point play after scoring through a foul.
The Rockets led 71-60 at halftime and methodically pulled away in the third quarter, ultimately extending their lead to 33 points.
