Rockets blowout Kings at home 128-97 — Kings Vs Rockets
In the latest kings vs rockets meeting, the Houston Rockets closed out a 128-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. The win featured a dominant first half, a third triple-double of the season for Alperen Sengun and a 28-point outburst from Reed Sheppard in his rare start.
Kings Vs Rockets game flow
The Rockets took a 77-50 lead into the half. Sacramento opened the second half on a 13-2 run, prompting head coach Ime Udoka to call a timeout just a few minutes into the quarter. Udoka then stuck with what the coverage described as the right combination of players, keeping the offense from becoming stagnant and closing the door on the Kings early.
Reed Sheppard’s aggressive night
Reed Sheppard finished with a game-high 28 points, making seven triples on 16 attempts from beyond the arc and shooting 43 percent from three-point range in the game. Ime Udoka singled out Sheppard’s approach: “Aggressiveness, hunting his shots. The fact that he got 12 [shots] up in the first half tells you all you need to know. ” Sheppard’s start came after Amen Thompson was unavailable with an apparent quad injury and took the night off because of the quad issue, which opened a starting spot.
Sengun and Durant lead offense
Alperen Sengun produced a 26-point triple-double and was noted as recording his third triple-double of the season. Kevin Durant added 21 points on 62 percent shooting. Josh Okogie shot an efficient 5-of-7 from the field, with three of those makes coming from behind the arc. Jabari Smith scored 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and “Uncle Jeff” Green chipped in 5 points in the victory.
Bench, ball movement and Aaron Holiday
With Amen Thompson out, Aaron Holiday received minutes and not only shot well but provided another ball handler who helped keep ball movement crisp. The result was described as a complete team victory over a bad Sacramento Kings team, with multiple contributors easing pressure on the main rotation.
Rest, schedule and lingering concerns
The main rotation was able to rest in the fourth quarter as the Rockets headed into the second game of a back-to-back, this one on the road in Orlando. The team will be back in action tomorrow at Orlando at 6pm. Getting a home win was also welcome: the Rockets had lost four of the last 7 home games before this victory.
Notes and other observations
Coverage of the club also included a blunt line: turnovers and poor execution cost the Rockets late. Another line in the same coverage read, “Against hornets, generally. Some are good, they say. ” That phrasing is unclear in the provided context. Elsewhere, a separate line warned that the Rockets’ biggest bugaboo can come back to bite them and cause the team to head into the break with a loss, a concern the club will want to avoid as it looks to string wins together.
VanVleet’s season-ending torn ACL prior to the start of the season was noted as a factor that thrust Reed Sheppard into action; Sheppard has produced in the games he’s started. In seven starts, he has averaged 15. 9 points, 3. 7 rebounds, 4. 9 assists and 2. 1 steals per game.
In sum, the Rockets’ 128-97 victory combined a strong first half, big individual nights from Sengun and Sheppard and timely contributions across the roster to close out a decisive home win.
