CK Press Box Report: Rockets 113, Kings 109

By James Ham and Rui Thomas

On an evening of heavy rain, fans’ tears looked all the same. The Sacramento Kings failed to avenge a loss to the Houston Rockets on November 26 in a gut-wrenching 113-109 overtime defeat.

“It was very similar to the Lakers game we just came off of (on Tuesday),” Michael Malone told the media after the loss. “You’re up and you control the game, then there’s your execution or lack therof, and your inability to value the basketball, and all of the sudden you’re in a game fighting for your life.”

The Kings set the tone early with tenacious defense inside and out. In the first two quarters the Rockets were held to 31.1 percent shooting from the field and 21.1 percent from behind the arc. Sacramento outran Houston on the break 10 points to three, and took advantage with 12 second chance points to lead 46-36 at the break.

However, Sacramento miscues kept Houston in the game. After limiting turnovers to eight in the first half, the Kings lost eight in the third quarter and six in the fourth. The Rockets also started taking advantage of open looks from 3 to connect on 9-of-22 triples in the second half, including a James Harden bucket to push the contest into extras.

Sacramento’s defense faltered in the end. James Harden scored 12 points in overtime and was a knife in Sacramento’s side with 44 total points, albeit on 14-of-32 field goals (3-of-10 from behind the arc).

“We didn’t do a good job, I didn’t do a good job of adjusting to James Harden,” Malone admitted. “He just kicked our ass tonight and got whatever he wanted. There was no resistance and he got to the rim for layup after layup.”

Donatas Montiejunas scored 14 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter, and Patrick Beverley notched 15. The Rockets only had 10 healthy players available, excluding Dwight Howard who sat out the game with a knee injury.

As for former King Jason Terry (only in legalities), he finished with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting. The 37-year-old was heckled mercilessly after his negative comments on the Kings’ team-building strategy in the offseason were remembered by fans. Terry was featured on the big screen often, and booed even when he was away from the ball.

For the home team, Ben McLemore scored 22 points and Darren Collison dropped 24 points, seven assists and six turnovers. Derrick Williams added 17 points in 34 minutes off the bench. Rudy Gay laid an egg with a 13-point, 4-of-18 field goal performance but recorded eight assists and eight rebounds.

With the loss, the Kings fall to 11-12 and 2-6 without DeMarcus Cousins this season. Sacramento hosts the struggling Detroit Pistons (3-19) on Saturday.

Notes and Analysis

• Ben McLemore is blossoming in front of our eyes.  The 21-year-old shooting guard scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting.  He gave up a big night to All-Star James Harden, but most of that came after he was picked off by one of the Rockets bigs.

• Darren Collison played like a man possessed.  Sensing the game slipping away, Malone turned to his veteran point guard and he responded with 24 points and seven assists.  He turned the ball over six times, but you have to break a few eggs to make a cake.

• Without DeMarcus Cousins for the eighth straight game, Jason Thompson took over the rebounding duties tonight.  The longest tenured King finished with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds in 35 minutes.

• With Omri Casspi struggling with a left knee contusion, Derrick Williams came out swinging again tonight.  When the former second overall selection is aggressive, he is good.  Tonight, he played like this was his last game, finishing with 17 points on 5-for-12 from the floor and added two 3-pointers in the loss.

• Rudy Gay couldn’t buy a bucket.  He figured out other ways to help out, but he shot just 4-of-18 from the field and hit one of his four 3-pointers in 39 minutes of action.  Gay added eight assists and eight rebounds in one of his few off shooting nights of the season.

• Stat of the Night: James Harden scored 12 of his 44 points in the overtime session, including the first seven Rockets points.

Quote of the Game

Jason Thompson on the accumulating Kings losses

“It’s very tough. We’ve got to find ways to finish. We’re a good team even with Cousins not on the floor so every guy was locked in. We’ve just got to find ways to know how we get leads and not worry about the scoreboard and just keep building on it rather than being complacent and letting the other team have a chance to get back into the game.”