NBA Round-Up Part III
Houston Rockets 102 - Sacramento Kings 93
Kevin Martin scored a game-high 22 points, as the Houston Rockets trounced the Sacramento Kings 102-93 at the ARCO Arena.
Only three Houston players scored in double figures. Luis Scola contributed 17 points and nine rebounds. While Kyle Lowry scored 13 points and seven assists in Houston’s 12th victory of the season.
Kevin Martin said after the game, "Our motivation is to win and try to make it to the playoffs. I don't have any grudges against Sacramento. I loved my time here. There are no hard feelings here."
DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Kings, who lost their fifth straight game of the season. Francisco Garcia and Tyreke Evans scored 14 points apiece in Sacramento’s 20th defeat this season. Carl Landry also posted 11
points.
Sacramento played the first quarter aggressively and built up a five-point lead to go up 31-26. Both teams scored 26 points apiece in the second. Despite shooting 38 percent in the first half, the Kings led 57-52 at the break.
With less than two minutes to go in the third quarter, Landry hit a pair of jumpers and hit two free throws, and as a result the Kings took an 81-79 lead into the final stanza.
The Kings' offence kept up with the Rockets through most of the game, but went cold in the fourth quarter. The Kings scored just four points in the final nine minutes of the game, after Sacramento took an 89-86 with just over nine minutes to play.
Miller's three-point basket then gave Houston a 93-89 lead. Soon after, Martin converted a three-point play to extend the Rocket’s lead to five points. Hill and Lowery headed their side during the rest of the session until the final buzzer.
After the loss Kings Coach Paul Westphal said, "We obviously haven't learned the secret of winning basketball games in the fourth quarter to say the least. I could be off by one, but I think this is six of our last eight games we've either had the lead or
are right there with a chance to win the game in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter."
Phoenix Suns 113 – Oklahoma City Thunders 110
Grant Hill scored a season-high 30 points as the Phoenix Suns snapped Oklahoma City Thunders five-game winning streak 113-110 at the Oklahoma City Arena.
Steve Nash added 20 points and 10 assists, while Robin Lopez registered 19 points in Sun’s 13th win of the season.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with a team-high 28 points. Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green scored 19 apiece in the defeat.
Hill told reporters after the game, "I think guys are going to come out and play, obviously, anytime that happens. Sometimes when you're on the other side and you see that a team's not at full strength, there's a little bit of a letdown."
This was one of the more thrilling matches of the National Basketball Association (NBA) this season, as both teams played some brilliant attacking basketball and were great with their shooting from around the court.
The Suns dominated the first two quarters and established a nine-point lead (54-45) at half time. The Oklahoma Thunders stormed back into the game at just the right time, and scored 40 points in the third quarter while limiting the visiting team to just
28 points. By successfully cutting down the deficit, Oklahoma held an 85-82 lead before the fourth quarter.
With seven minutes to go until the final buzzer, the game was tied at 94. However, Phoenix went on a 12-6 run over the next four and a half minutes to lead 106-100. Oklahoma City got no closer than the final margin of three points, as the Suns cruised home
to another victory.
Suns Coach Alvin Gentry, "Considering our circumstances tonight (being short-handed) we were really good tonight. Our defense was great we shot the ball well, I thought it was a really good win."
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