Courtney Lee stars as Houston Rockets come out on top against Sacramento Kings 104-87 – NBA Recap
The Houston Rockets scored an easy 104-87 victory over the Sacramento Kings here at the Power Balance Pavilion on Sunday.
The Kings looked rusty and had no intensity on the floor. They never led in the match and trailed by as many as 22 points. Courtney Lee scored a game high 25 points for the Rockets, 17 of which came in the 1st quarter
alone. He was 3 of 5 from the 3 point line. Goran Dragic added 15 points for Houston, but was only 1 of 5 from beyond the arc.
The Rockets took the lead with the first play of the game and never trailed after that. Courtney Lee was unstoppable in the 1st period for the Rockets, scoring 17 points including 3-of-3 from downtown. The Rockets finished
the quarter leading 32-21 and continued their offensive display in the 2nd quarter, going on a 17-5 run to extend their lead to as many as 19 points, before finishing the 1st half at 58-43.
Houston opened the 2nd half strongly, taking their lead to 22 with 7:44 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The Kings bounced back late in the 3rd to go on a 14-2 run and close in on the Rockets lead.
A 3-pointer by Jimmer Fredette brought the score to 61-71 with 1:30 left. Houston went into the final period leading 73-63.
The Rockets offensive display continued in the 4th quarter as well, and they brought the lead back up to 16 after a jump shot by Chase Budinger with 4:45 remaining in the game. Budinger followed that up with a 3 pointer
to put Houston up 93-75. The Kings lacked the confidence and momentum to come back from such a huge deficit and Houston held on to win 104-87.
Luis Scola added 13 points, 5 assists and 8 rebounds, while Budinger came off the bench for 15 points, shooting at 50% from the field. He also made 3 shots from beyond the arc.
Terrence Williams came off the bench to score a team high 21 points for the Kings. Jimmer Fredette added 17.
The Kings shot well from 3 point range, going 7 of 14. However, they were only 20 of 37 from the free throw line which hurt them badly. The Rockets were a near perfect 11 of 13 from the free throw line. They also had an impressive
29 assists for the game and limited their turnovers to only 11.
Sacramento, on the other hand, had only 15 assists and 21 turnovers in the game. Houston also managed more fast break points than the Kings with 25 compared to 12.
Star guard Kyle Lowry returned for the game, but Houston Coach Kevin McHale decided to stick with Goran Dragic as a starter. Lowry only played 18 minutes and scored 1 point while going 0 of 3 from the field.
Houston have now won 3 games in a row and are on a hot streak. They are peaking at the right time, with the playoffs just around the corner.
They have been particularly impressive off late, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers coming into this game. They are currently placed 6th in the Western Conference, only 1 win behind Memphis.
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