By INDIANAPOLIS — Alperen Sengun matched his season high with 39 points, and Jabari Smith Jr. added 19 to help the shorthanded Houston Rockets overcome the absence of All-Star forward Kevin Durant to beat the Indiana Pacers 118-114 on Monday.
Durant sat out, coach Ime Udoka said, after spraining his left ankle when he stepped on a fan’s foot. The Rockets already were missing center Steven Adams, who is expected to miss the rest of this season following surgery on his injured left ankle, so Sengun did the heavy lifting.
