Facing a close game heading into the 4th quarter, it was Trey Lyles - with some help from De'Aaron Fox - who stepped up to propel the Sacramento Kings on a 35-14 run to end the game and secure a 135-115 victory.
Lyles had 15 points and 6 boards on 5 of 5 shooting in the 4th alone, and Fox added 9 in the period to knock the Rockets out of orbit. Houston led 101-100 with 8:44 to go in the game, but the Kings offense heated up and put the scrappy young Rockets team away for good.
Fox had 24 points and 9 assists in the victory, Lyles finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and Domantas Sabonis had a near triple double with 25 points, 9 assists, and 14 boards. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 26 points, and Kenyon Martin Jr. scored 21 points off the bench. Sophomore big man Alperen Sengun finished with a 10 point, 10 rebound, 10 assist triple double and looked the part of a young Sabonis for much of the night.
While the late-game run left the Golden 1 Center crowd elated with the result, the final score somewhat masked a truly disappointing defensive performance. This would have been a great game for the Kings to show some defensive effort and success against one of the youngest, most inefficient squads in the league - instead, they let the Rockets dominate them in both isolation and with off-ball movement for the first three quarters. Coming into the game, the Rockets averaged 21.8 assists (2nd last in league) and 17 turnovers (worst in league) per game, but had 16 assists and only 6 turnovers in the first half alone. They ended the game with 30 assists and 13 turnovers while shooting 45.8% from the field and 39% from deep. Across both this game, and the season as a whole, Sacramento's awful defense continuously lets their opponents play up to their level offensively.
Rookie Keegan Murray finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 threes against the Rockets and out-dueled the Houston rookie combo of Jabari Smith Jr. (8 points, 9 rebounds, and one poster dunk over Keegan) and Tari Eason (7 points and 3 rebounds).
What the game lacked in defense, it didn't lack in physicality - Murray got hammered on a 4th quarter drive as Houston's Garrison Mathews rightfully earned a flagrant foul while "going "for a block. Sabonis was also outwardly frustrated with the officiating all night, especially since Houston's only answer to Sabonis in the paint seemed to be to rough him up. But the Kings stepped up when they got the line - they went 26 of 31 from the charity stripe.
Kevin Huerter sat out the game due to a non-COVID illness, and Terence Davis started in his place. Davis finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds, while Malik Monk had 11 points off the bench but shot just 3 of 13 from the field.
These same two teams will take on a rematch on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
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