- Oct 16, 2026
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SportsMafia Wire graphic. Team logos and player headshots via ESPN.
Houston opened its season 2-0 for the first time since 2017-18 after edging San Antonio 114-110 on Friday before a sellout crowd at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
The contest turned on a defensive stand in the final seconds. With Houston clinging to a 112-110 lead and five seconds remaining, De'Aaron Fox found Victor Wembanyama near the rim. Amen Thompson, the 23-year-old Rockets guard with a seven-foot reach, rose to meet the eight-foot wingspan of Wembanyama and swatted the layup attempt into the hands of Fred VanVleet, whose free throws sealed the outcome.
Thompson posted 20 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk and 2 stl. Earlier, he had thrown down a dunk over Wembanyama for an and-one at 1:13 of the third quarter, pushing Houston's lead to nine.
Alperen Sengun led all scorers with 29 pts, 7 reb and 7 ast. He tallied 18 in the second half, including 14 in the 4th Q. The performance marked his 35th career game with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, tying Steve Francis for the second-most by a Rockets player before age 25. Kevin Durant added 20 pts for Houston.
Durant reacted to Thompson's game-saving rejection by asking, "What the f--- is wrong with him, thinking he was just gonna lay it up so easily?" Rockets coach Ime Udoka guided the victory.
Source: ESPN - Sat Oct 24, 3:31 AM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).