Rockets trim Grizzlies in matchup of Western powers

(Reuters) — Alperen Sengun collected 32 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, Jalen Green added 27 points and Fred VanVleet contributed 22 to lead the Houston Rockets past the Memphis Grizzlies 119-115 for their fifth straight road victory.

Ja Morant paced the Grizzlies with 27 points, and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points and eight rebounds. Santi Aldama came off the bench to finish with 12 points and nine rebounds. Jackson, the Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for December, had a season-high six blocks.

Morant and Aldama returned to action Thursday after brief injury-induced absences. Morant had been out since Dec. 27 with a shoulder injury, and Aldama hadn't played since Dec. 26 because of an ankle sprain. Desmond Bane also returned after missing Monday's win over Dallas with an ankle injury. He scored 16 points.

The Grizzlies and Rockets, who have the second- and third-most wins in the Western Conference teams behind Oklahoma City, met in the first of three games against each another this month. The Rockets moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Grizzlies. The two teams will play Monday in Houston and Jan. 30 back in Memphis.

Memphis shot 50 percent, but was undone by 20 turnovers, which Houston converted into 31 Houston.

The Grizzlies trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter, but scrapped back to cut the deficit to 115-114 with 2:49 to go. Aaron Holiday preserved the win for Houston with two free throws -- his only points of the game -- with 2.6 seconds left.

The Rockets built a 17-point lead in the first half, mostly behind 18 points from Sengun.

Houston used a 25-9 run to go up 31-19 in the first quarter, and the Rockets extended the lead to 61-44 midway through the second quarter following a hook shot by Sengun.

Memphis rallied in the closing minutes of the half to trim the Houston advantage to 68-63 at the break.

Green had 15 points and VanVleet had 10 in the first half for Houston. Former Grizzlies' big man Steven Adams had seven rebounds in the half.

The Grizzlies shot 52.1 percent in the half and were led by Jackson (14 points) and Morant (11). Aldama had 10 points and five rebounds.