Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings
· National Basketball AssociationRockets beat Kings 112-104 but lose leading scorer Alperen Sengun to injury
Sengun landed awkwardly while challenging a shot by the Kings' Domantas Sabonis with under a minute to play in the fourth. Sengun appeared to be in immediate distress and he left the court in a wheelchair after several minutes on the baseline, with his hands covering his face.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said after the game that Sengun was getting an X-ray and he would “know more shortly.” ESPN reported that Sengun will undergo and MRI on both his right knee and ankle on Monday.
“It doesn’t diminish the win in general,” Udoka said. “I think it was one of our best road wins. He had a huge part in that.”
The 21-year-old Sengun, who had 14 points prior to the injury, is averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game in his third season.
“Injuries are part of the game,” VanVleet said. “We all understand that when we signed up, but it’s always tough to see your teammates go down, especially the young ones who haven’t really been through it before.”
Seven players finished in double figures for the Rockets, who have won four of five as they look to make a push toward a spot in the play-in tournament. Houston is now 4 1/2 games back of the 10th seed in the Western Conference.
Sabonis led the Kings with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
Sacramento cut a 17-point lead down to five late in the fourth quarter, but Houston held off a late push, with Green hitting a three to push the lead to eight with under a minute to play. Green had missed all five of his 3-point attempts prior to taking taht shot.
“I knew I was taking that one, because I missed (a prior attempt),” Green said. “I wanted that one bad.”
The Rockets grabbed control in the third quarter, going on a 13-0 run and taking advantage of five straight turnovers by the Kings to take a 86-73 lead into the fourth. Sengun had eight points in the quarter, and the Kings held the Rockets to just 14 points and four field goals.
De'Aaron Fox had 18 points, but the Kings star was held to 7 of 21 shooting.
“If we make shots, it probably looks like a different game,” Fox said. “I got a lot of opportunities that I usually make and they just didn’t go in.”
Houston swept the Kings this season, also beating Sacramento in consecutive home games in November. The Rockets had dropped four of the last five to the Kings on the road. They have now won three straight on the road, a season-high.
Sacramento dropped to seventh in the West, entering the game tied with Phoenix for the last spot to avoid the play-in tournament. Sabonis said the Rockets were more physical than the Kings.
“That’s what we’re going to see in the playoffs,” Sabonis said. “It’s obviously a good thing to play against a team like that, but we’ve got to learn how to play against those kinds of teams and not just give into it.”
The Rockets trailed by 13 points in the first half, but finished on a 13-5 run to cut the deficit to 59-54 at halftime, with VanVleet making back-to-back 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
Rockets: At San Antonio on Tuesday night.
Kings: Host Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
Regular Season Series
HOU wins series 3-0
Matchup Prediction
Recent Plays
4th 0.0 | End of Game | 112 - 104 | |
4th 0.0 | End of the 4th Quarter | 112 - 104 | |
4th 6.1 | Fred VanVleet defensive rebound | 112 - 104 | |
4th 9.1 | Kevin Huerter misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot | 112 - 104 | |
4th 14.0 | Fred VanVleet bad pass (Malik Monk steals) | 112 - 104 |
Statistics
HOU | SAC | |
---|---|---|
39-84 | FG | 39-86 |
46.4 | Field Goal % | 45.3 |
12-29 | 3PT | 6-32 |
41.4 | Three Point % | 18.8 |
22-27 | FT | 20-23 |
81.5 | Free Throw % | 87.0 |
42 | Rebounds | 44 |
6 | Offensive Rebounds | 7 |
36 | Defensive Rebounds | 37 |
23 | Assists | 24 |
8 | Steals | 10 |
1 | Blocks | 5 |
12 | Turnovers | 12 |
0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
12 | Total Turnovers | 13 |
0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
16 | Points Off Turnovers | 15 |
10 | Fast Break Points | 15 |
46 | Points in Paint | 56 |
18 | Fouls | 20 |
17 | Largest Lead | 13 |
Game Information
Location: Sacramento, CA
Attendance: 18,022 · Capacity:
2023-24 Southwest Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas | 50 | 32 | .610 | - | L2 |
New Orleans | 49 | 33 | .598 | 1 | L1 |
Houston | 41 | 41 | .500 | 9 | W2 |
Memphis | 27 | 55 | .329 | 23 | L5 |
San Antonio | 22 | 60 | .268 | 28 | W2 |
2023-24 Pacific Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LA Clippers | 51 | 31 | .622 | - | L3 |
Phoenix | 49 | 33 | .598 | 2 | W3 |
LA Lakers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 4 | W2 |
Sacramento | 46 | 36 | .561 | 5 | W1 |
Golden State | 46 | 36 | .561 | 5 | W1 |
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