Nikola Jokic thinks the Rockets should involve Alperen Sengun more / News - Basketnews.com

Alperen Sengun matched up against Nikola Jokic well in the first half, leaving the current NBA MVP certain the Houston Rockets should use the Turkish center more.

Credit: USA TODAY Sports - Scanpix Credit USA TODAY Sports - Scanpix

A youngster battled against his idol as Alperen Sengun faced Nikola Jokic last night. Even though the Denver Nuggets (13-7) comfortably defeated the Houston Rockets (5-15) 129-113 (42-39, 28-29, 36-23, 23-22), the Turkish center's performance wasn't left unnoticed.

Player of the Game EFF 40 Nikola Jokic Points 32 Accuracy 11-17 Rebounds 12 Assists 8

Sengun finished the game with 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jokic, meanwhile, scored 32 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and dished out 8 assists.

"I was excited to play against him. I played well, he played well. It was a good game for us, we have to look forward to the next game," Sengun commented.

"I forget everything when I get on the court," he said about facing Jokic. "I'm learning. He's a good post-up player, and I'm learning how I can guard when they play the post-up."

Talking after the match, Jokic told that the Rockets should get Sengun more involved, T.J. McBride from the Denver Stiffs reports. The Serbian center believes they should use the young big man as a driving force as the team often gets stuck.

Sengun had admitted before that he models his game after Jokic.

"I loved it. That's his idol. That's someone that he matched his game after," Rockets' Kevin Porter Jr. told after the game. "It's good going against people like that, especially for AL-P (Sengun's nickname). It's the MVP at the end of the day. Definitely a good matchup for him."

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