The Houston Rockets seem to be on an absolute roll early in the season. Possessing no true All-Star on their roster, the Rockets are still bullying their way into the Western Conference. After their dominating win against the Los Angeles Lakers, this is their third straight win over the reigning NBA champions, making it their sixth win in a row.

Alperen Sengun was a crucial part of the Rockets’ win over the Denver Nuggets. Sengun, who idolizes Nikola Jokic, did not hold back after the team’s win. Here are three takeaways from the game.

Sengun couldn’t care less about Nikola Jokic

The Houston Rockets are rapidly climbing the Western Conference ladder with their sixth win in a row. The Rockets recently got the dub over the Denver Nuggets, handing them their second loss of the season. And Rockets’ big man, Alperen Sengun, did not mince his words while playing his idol.

Post the game, Sengun said, “6 in a row baby! Jokic is my idol, but he wasn’t my idol today”. Sengun was not worried about hurting any sentiments and seemed ecstatic about how his team was performing.

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A close game throughout all four quarters, the Houston Rockets defeated the Denver Nuggets with a 107-104 final score. Both teams kept trading punches and it was anybody’s ballgame right up until the final seconds.

Jalen Green, who was the catalyst in the Rockets’ win over the Lakers, had a terrible showing for this matchup. He finished the game with 9 points on 1-13 shooting from the field and 1-4 from beyond the arc.

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Luckily for the Rockets, other players picked up the slack. One of the main players was Alperen Sengun. It was a battle of giants as both Sengun and Jokic had great performances, constantly going at one another.

Even though Green was not on his ‘A-Game’ tonight, Alperen Sengun poured in 23 points, nabbed 8 rebounds, and notched 5 assists to go along with 2 blocks and a steal. He was all over the court in this game.

So, even when the usual players who the Rockets rely on for scoring have an off-night, others can take up the responsibility on offense. And Sengun did just that.

Fred VanVleet turning out to be a great investment

Another major factor that played a huge role in the Rockets’ win over the Nuggets was Houston’s starting point guard, Fred VanVleet. Fans got to see the scoring output VanVleet possesses as opposed to his passing ability.

VanVleet is usually expected to run the team’s offense and find players in the right spots for open and easy shots. However, without Jalen Green’s scoring, VanVleet was another player who took on the offensive load upon himself.

He led the team in scoring with 26 points. But what was impressive was the fact that he managed to collapse the Nuggets defense almost every time he drove inside the paint, leaving players open on the perimeter.

Even though the Nuggets shot a much better percentage from the field, both Sengun and VanVleet were the bright spots for the Rockets’ offense whenever the team needed someone to score.

Former Nuggets player Jeff Green came off the bench for the Rockets and had a great game scoring. He was able to drain back-to-back three-pointers that kept the Rockets in front, late in the fourth quarter.

Green had 15 points off the bench in the 26 minutes that he played on a healthy 5-7 shooting from the field.

Now, onto the Denver Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic seems like an early runner for MVP

Even though the Nuggets did not have Jamal Murray in their starting lineup, the rest of the squad performed splendidly in this game. Four out of five starters scored in double digits against the Rockets.

Nikola Jokic seemed like an absolute stat-sheet stuffer, notching his 109th triple-double of his career. Jokic had 36 points, 21 rebounds, and 11 assists for the game, along with 1 block as well.

So far this season, Jokic is averaging 29.8 PPG, 13.7 RPG, and 8.3 APG on a true shooting percentage of 66.8. With the way Jokic has been performing, he could very well be an early bid in the MVP race.

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Now, for the game, players like Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon were a huge help to Jokic on offense. MPJ had 25 points and 10 rebounds whereas Gordon poured in 16 points on a healthy 6-10 shooting.

Reggie Jackson understood his assignment well as he filled in for an absent Murray in the starting lineup. Jackson had 14 crucial points in the second half with 4 rebounds and 2 assists to go along with it.

One can only wonder what the outcome would be if Jamal Murray was available in the lineup. But it seems as if the Nuggets will have to wait a while to get their lick back against the Rockets this season.