Houston Rockets take down the Sacramento Kings 102-89 in the Toyota Center.
Rockets move to 12-3 and the Kings fall to 9-6 on the season. James Harden had an awful shooting night going 10-31 from the field. But Harden’s presence was felt in many different ways, especially on the defensive end. Harden finished with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assist, 2 steals, & 3 blocks. DeMarcus Cousins had a frustrating night as Mchale kept switching defenders and doubling Boogie all game. Cousins finished with a monster game 29 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assist, 3 blocks, but had 7 costly turnovers. Kings finished with 20 turnovers to only 4 Rocket turnovers, which lead to 19 fast break points for Houston. The steals category was lop sided also. Rockets finished with 13 steals and the Kings only had 2 steals.
Thier were many questions going into this season for the Houston Rockets. Depth was the real big issue after letting Chandler Parsons walk for nothing in return and trading away Jeremy Lin to the Lakers. Who was gonna step up for the Rockets bench? Well the depth issue was answered last night. Rockets back-up PG Isaiah Canaan and back-up PF Donatas Montiejunas both put up career highs in points last night vs the Kings. Canaan was on fire in the 3rd quarter from 3 point land and finished with 14 points in the quarter. Canaan ended the game with 24 points, 4 assist, 6 rebounds, & 4 steals. Montiejunas finished with 21 points, 6 rebounds, & 3 steals. Also for the Kings Ben McLemore and Omri Casspi they finsihed with 14 points a piece.
Rockets are winning games with thier defense especially in the 4th quarter. What’s very impressive with Houston is they are winning games without 3 starters in Patrick Beverley, Terrence Jones, and Dwight Howard. Nobody has an explanation for the Rockets 12-3 record. Never forget this statement “defense wins championships”! Are the Rockets contenders? Well their record is speaking for themselves. Time will only tell!
