Alperen Sengun put the Houston Rockets on his back.

The Rockets center scored 43 points with 12 rebounds and five assists as Houston held off the Utah Jazz 125-118 in an NBA Cup game Friday night.

Sengun made 17 of his 24 shots. It was the second 40-point game of his career.

In legendary company

Sengun became the third player in Rockets history to post at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while shooting 70% or better. The other two are Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994 and Yao Ming in 2004.

His career high is still the 45 he scored against San Antonio in 2024.

Houston needed every one of his points. Kevin Durant had 22 but shot just 5 of 14 from the field.

Utah makes it close

The Rockets led 63-53 at halftime. The Jazz stormed back and went up 87-77 late in the third quarter.

Houston answered by closing the period on a 15-2 run to take a 92-89 lead.

Utah stayed within striking distance the rest of the way. Fred VanVleet's floater with 11 seconds left made it 123-118 and Durant sealed it with two free throws.

VanVleet finished with 17 points. Tari Eason had 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

Another loss for the Jazz

Darryn Peterson scored a career-high 28 points for Utah. It was his fifth straight game with at least 20.

Keyonte George added 27 and Ace Bailey scored 21.

The Jazz have lost 11 straight and fell to 1-12. Their only win came in the second game of the season against New Orleans.

What's next

Houston has won three in a row to improve to 10-3, third in the Western Conference.

The Rockets play at Washington on Sunday. The Jazz host San Antonio the same day.