Inside Alperen Sengun’s locker room speech that fueled Rockets’ Game 4 win
The Rockets rebounded from a heartbreaking Game 3 loss to keep their season alive in their series against the Lakers after a motivating speech from Sengun.
With their season hanging by a thread, the Houston Rockets needed something, anything, to shift momentum. They found it in Alperen Sengun.
Rockets avoid sweep after Sengun’s powerful pregame message
Before Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sengun gathered his teammates following morning shootaround and delivered a message that would ultimately define Houston’s night. Down 3-0 in the series and reeling from a heartbreaking Game 3 collapse, the young Rockets needed belief. Sengun made sure they had it.
“I didn’t give up on this series and I just wanted to let everybody know,” Sengun said after the Rockets’ 115-96 win. “Hopefully everybody’s mindset has changed going into a fifth game.”
The speech resonated immediately inside a locker room that had every reason to feel defeated. Houston had blown a late lead in Game 3 and entered Sunday facing elimination. But according to guard Amen Thompson, Sengun’s words reset the tone.
“He was just letting us know he didn’t want to go home,” Thompson said. “This is not how we end it. If we go out, we’re going to go out and fight.”
That mindset showed up on the court. Houston played with urgency from the opening tip, forcing 24 turnovers and converting them into 30 points, their most in a playoff game in over a decade. Thompson led the way with 23 points, while Sengun added 19 in a performance that was as much about leadership as production.
For Sengun, the moment carried added weight. With injuries sidelining key veterans like Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, and Kevin Durant missing his second straight game, the 23-year-old embraced the responsibility of becoming the team’s emotional anchor.
“I think this is my team, so I need to take care of everybody,” Sengun said. “I will do anything for them. Talk, fight, do something and show them.”
Even that moment came with a touch of humility. Sengun, who earlier in his career relied on an interpreter, joked about whether his message fully landed.
“Amen was telling me that it really motivated [him],” Sengun said. “And then I was like, my English was good? … He said, ‘I don’t care. I still understand you.’”
They understood him clearly enough. Backed into a corner, the Rockets dominated, extending their season and shifting the tone of the series heading into Game 5. Whether the comeback ultimately materializes remains to be seen, but Houston isn’t going quietly. And it started with Sengun making sure everyone in that locker room believed the same.
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