Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun is going to continue to draw comparisons to Nikola Jokic, even if he doesn't want to.

In Wednesday’s victory over the Pelicans, Nikola Jokic led the way for the Nuggets as he recorded a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists while Peyton Watson scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Nikola Jokić nearly had a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets used a late run to put away the Rockets in a battle of two of the teams battling Oklahoma City for Western Conference supremacy.

The Rockets’ early success comes with warning signs that could impact their long-term championship hopes in 2025-26.

A complete threat (on) the scouting report,” Nuggets coach David Adelman says of Reed Sheppard. “At any moment, he can get hot and flip a game.”

Nobody else has dove in on offensive rebounding to the extent the Rockets have, with their massive 38.5 percent offensive rebound rate after an offseason spent adding ever more size to go with their already formidable frontcourt. But in a copycat NBA, this could be the latest Houston-initiated math hack that ends up widely imitated.

The Rockets and Suns tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT tonight. This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/rockets/onsi as Several Rockets, Suns to Miss Tonight's Game. Tonight, the Houston Rockets will face off against the Phoenix Suns, hoping to bounce-back from a close loss to Denver.

Reed Sheppard dropped a career-high 27 points for the Houston Rockets in their 112-109 NBA Cup loss to the Denver Nuggets Friday.