Houston Rockets Easily Rout Sacramento Kings, 113-104

The Houston Rockets have defeated Sacramento Kings on the road tonight, posting their 21st win of the season. The final result of this match was 113-104, and not once throughout the entire game, were there any doubts about Houston’s success. In fact, apart from 2-2 at the beginning, the guests from Texas were always ahead.

James Harden and Russell Westbrook were all over the court, and these two combined for 62 points, shooting 20 for 41 from the field. Harden had 34 buckets, with 5 boards and assists, while Russ added 28, with 7 rebounds and 6 dimes. Sacramento’s young backcourt was no match for them, and it was obvious that Luke Walton’s team doesn’t have a solution on how to stop them.

🚀 @JHarden13 (34 PTS) and @russwest44 (28 PTS) help the @HoustonRockets win their 4th in a row! #OneMission pic.twitter.com/u7Prv0ORVN

— NBA (@NBA) December 24, 2019

“You guys are going to think I sound like a broken record but it is what it is in the NBA,” Luke Walton told the media after the game, adding that his team is still developing.

Once again, the Kings lost when Bogdan Bogdanovic didn’t play, and their record this season without the Serbian player is 0-5. With Bogi on the floor, and with Fox and Bagley out, the Kings posted much better results, and that is something Luke Walton would have to think about and find a way to change it.

Sacramento was really without any chance to win this contest as they immediately began playing badly. The three-point shooting in the opening period was awful, 1 of 7, while on the other side, the Rockets hit five downtown hits. Things improved a little bit in the second frame, but still, the Kings couldn’t endanger the visitors.

The fans at the Golden One Center started to boo once Houston opened the second half with a 10-0 run, which preceded another 9-0 burst shortly afterward. In those moments, the Rockets were up 86-63.

However, all this changed a little bit in the fourth, when hosts opened the sequence with a 17-2 run, cutting the deficit to 102-96. Then again, it proved to be just a momentarily spark of the home team, who slowed down once thing became intense, and posted its 18th loss of the season.

“I’m proud of our guys for sticking to it and giving us a chance at the end,” Sacramento’s coach told about that period when his team played well.

The recent stretch of bad results is slowly removing the Kings (12-18) from the playoff battle. In the last six games, they lost five times, and it appears that the streak of bad results began when Bagley at first, and later Fox, recovered from their respective injuries.

The chemistry built in the previous period was interrupted, and it will be interesting to see where Kings go after this.

Fox had 31 points in this one, with 9 boards and 6 assists. Richaun Holmes posted a double-double with 12 points and 14 boards, while Bagley had just 11 points. Trevor Ariza came off the bench to score 12 buckets, and Bjelica added 10.

Buddy Hield had only 10 buckets in this one.

“Buddy is a confident young man and he works very hard. We gotta keep doing a better job as a coaching staff to find a way to keep giving him good looks,” Walton said about his young star.

The Kings had just 7 threes hit in 30 attempts, and that is one more reason why they need Bogdanovic on the floor as soon as possible,

As for the Rockets (21-9), they know their path. Westbrook and Harden are slowly clicking, and the recent few games showed that they could both play at a high level without slowing down one another.

Up next, they head for Calfornia to meet the Warriors tomorrow and after that host the Brooklyn Nets at home. Golden State beat Minnesota tonight, with the same result, 113-104.

The Kings meet the Timberwolves this Thursday night.