Alperen Sengun and the Rockets (2-3) forced a Game 6 last night after a nail-biting 99-93 win over LeBron James and the Lakers (3-2) in Game 5.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Alperen Sengun seemed to call out LeBron James for flopping, which led to him getting yelled at on the free-throw line. The original broadcast videos that caught James yelling at Sengun went viral, but it was initially unclear what Sengun said that riled James.
Subsequently, a new video has surfaced on social media that shows the details of what Sengun said to James and even shows how his Rockets teammates tried to hold him back from opening his mouth.
“Soft a– call,” Sengun said when he was waiting for James to take a free throw. “Chill Alpi!” Jabari Smith Jr. immediately said.
“Did you say soft a– call? Nah! Not you! Anybody else on that roster but you [can say that],” said James when he heard what Sengun said.
“I can say that! I have two free throws,” Sengun clapped back, saying James is wrong to think he’s getting a favorable whistle tonight. Even Amen Thompson was reportedly holding Sengun back from chirping at James, but it was too late, and James got angry.
“You don’t say that! You don’t say that! You’re the only person who ain’t allowed to say that. Soft a– call, yeah, alright,” said James as he rolled his eyes at Sengun in frustration.
What LeBron James Really Said To Alperen Sengun👀:
Sengun: “Soft a** call”
LeBron: “Nah, not you! Anybody else on y’all roster, but not you”
Sengun: “I can say that, I have two free throws”
LeBron: “You don’t say that! You’re the only person that ain’t allowed to say that” pic.twitter.com/8kRRhhnPc9
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) April 30, 2026
LeBron James tried to will the Lakers back into the game after they were down by 12 points, and nearly did when he cut it to three points before Reed Sheppard’s back-to-back buckets took the life out of the Lakers’ comeback run.
James and the rest of the Lakers struggled to find any consistency on offense last night. Therefore, even after James led all scorers with 25 points, his shooting numbers indicate that he missed some crucial shots that in a 6-point game could have made all the difference.
The 41-year-old veteran ended the night with 25 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals while going 9-20 from the field (45.0 FG%) and missing all six of his three-point shot attempts last night.
He also missed three free throws in ten attempts in this game, which he later admitted was a part of the cluster of mistakes that the Lakers made last night to give the Rockets some hope to come back in this series.
Meanwhile, Alperen Sengun finished the game with nearly a triple-double as he stuffed the box score with 14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and one block while shooting 5-9 from the floor (55.6 FG%).
The Rockets will now be at home for Game 6, and Sengun seems confident that they will return to Los Angeles for Game 7. It leaves me wondering if the Rockets manage to pull off this extraordinary comeback that the league has never seen before, would it in any way tarnish LeBron James’ case as the GOAT?
The Lakers will have to close this series out to avoid letting that discussion even take place. Let us know what you think in the comments section.
