Patrick Patterson’s career night sees Houston Rockets past Sacramento Kings in O.T. - NBA Recap
With the three way race for the eighth and final spot in the fiercely fought Western Conference getting tougher by the day, Houston Rockets dodged a major bullet on Monday night after they overcame an eight point fourth quarter deficit to outmuscle the Sacramento
Kings 113-106 in overtime.
With Kyle Lowry still out injured and Kevin Martin day to day because of a strained right shoulder, the under strength Rockets found 24 points from Patrick Patterson – a career high. He led seven Rockets in double figures. Luis Scola contributed 18 points
and pulled down 14 rebounds to tie his season high; Chandler Parsons added 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Courtney Lee scored 16.
Goran Dragic notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 assist, Chase Budinger had 11 off the bench and Earl Boykins scored 10 and had 5 assists.
Boykins, 12 year veteran who stands at 5 ft 5 in, wasn’t even part of NBA till last night and it was only today, he was signed for a 10 day contract by the Rockets to provide depth at the point guard position. Even Boykins was stumped after his performance;
"This is definitely a unique situation, but when you've been around as long as I have, you know how to prepare to play in the NBA even when you're not in the NBA," Boykins said. "It takes a great deal of confidence to give someone the ball who you haven't
seen all year (and be) confident that they can make free throws. It's a lot easier to play when your teammates have that kind of confidence."
Behind a monster effort from DeMarcus Cousins - career-high 38 points and had 14 rebounds- the Kings dominated the Rockets through most part of the first three quarters and well into the fourth.
However, they failed to protect their lead when it really mattered the most.
Even after, the Rockets let rip with an 11-2 run to take a 93-92 lead, the Kings had a chance to close the game in the clutch. However, with the game on the line, they failed to mark Patterson, who slipped in a jumper from the free throw line to tie the
game.
Marcus Thornton, who added 27 points for the Kings, had a chance to seal it with a three, but his shot bounced off the rim.
Then, in the overtime, the Kings seemed content on making jumpers rather than getting into the lane, something the Rockets did consistently. They ultimately got to the foul line more and sunk the Kings.
"We self-destruct," A fired up Sacramento Coach Keith Smart said after the game. "We have some success as a unit and a group and we just didn't stay with it. We have to be able to handle adversity as a team."
The Kings have now lost four road games on a trot and have the worst away record in the league at 4-21.
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