Turkish star Alperen Sengun delivered another outstanding performance, recording his eighth career triple-double, but it wasn’t enough as the Houston Rockets fell 116-111 to the Denver Nuggets in a tightly contested NBA regular-season matchup.

Sengun played 40 minutes, posting an impressive stat line of 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. Despite his all-around contribution, Houston couldn’t overcome Denver, which secured the win even without their superstar Nikola Jokic.

Jalen Green led the Rockets in scoring with 30 points, while Dillon Brooks added 21. Veteran big man Steven Adams came off the bench to contribute 14 points and 12 rebounds, while rookie Amen Thompson finished with 11 points.

On the Nuggets’ side, Jamal Murray stepped up in Jokic’s absence, scoring a game-high 39 points along with 7 assists. Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook contributed 14 points. Aaron Gordon finished with 13 points, and Deandre Jordan made a strong impact with 11 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 assists.

With this win, Denver closed the gap to just one game behind Houston in the standings.