Rockets' fourth-year center an icon in his home country, where Turkish fans and politicians support his career.

Houston Rockets second-year forward Amen Thompson was selected for the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge on Tuesday, an unsurprising development for the 21-year-old who has become a league-wide sensation.

There is still time before the NBA trade deadline for the Rockets to go all in on a move that could deliver them a title.

Nearing real stardom, Şengün reflects on Rockets' belief in him: "Whoever trusts me, or backs me up, I will take care of them all my life."

Amen Thompson had the clutch go-ahead bucket and Dillon Brooks made a franchise record-tying 10 3-pointers in the Rockets' win over the Celtics on Monday.

Boston has lost nine games this season where it had the lead in the fourth quarter (which equals last year's mark in half the games).

The Houston Rockets have made massive strides as a team on the defensive end of the floor, and that can be accredited to players like Amen Thompson and Dillon B

Alperen Şengün is a Turkish professional basketball player born on July 25, 2002, in Giresun, Turkey. He plays as a center for the Houston Rockets in the NBA and represents the Turkish national team.

To Amen Thompson's surprise, with five seconds left in a tied midseason game against the defending NBA champions, Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka called a play for the second-year forward. "I liked the matchup,

"The opponents are the opponents," Udoka said after Friday's practice in Houston. "That's the way we want to go about it. Forget the opponent. Let's do what we do." Udoka's mantra will be repeated ...

BOSTON — Minutes after Amen Thompson sank a game-winning floater, sending thousands of dumbfounded Boston Celtics fans heading for the exits, the Houston Rockets second-year forward made a tiny but loud gesture at his locker.

The Boston Celtics learned the hard way on Monday. The Celtics and Rockets battled in a hard-fought game at Boston's TD Garden. In the end, Thompson sunk the Celtics with a last-second bucket to secure a 114-112 Rockets win.