Rockets Win as Kings Blow Another Late Lead
By Nick Avila
48 minutes wouldn’t be enough for the Sacramento Kings or Houston Rockets to get a win, as the teams headed to overtime. 21 turnovers for the Kings to go along with 23/34 free-throw shooting kept the Rockets in the game, as well as their 15 to eight advantage from beyond the arc. It would be the Rockets (17-5) overcoming a double-digit lead to beat the Kings (11-12) 113-109.
James Harden, who finished with 44 points, would take over in overtime and the Kings would blow another game. Ben McLemore finished with 21 points and Darren Collison ended with 24 points and seven assists. Rudy Gay would shoot an abysmal 4/18 on the night. It would mark the fifth time the Kings lost a game where they led by double-digits.
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A hot start from the Kings, led by McLemore, would push the Kings to a 26-16 first quarter lead. McLemore had nine first quarter points and Jason Thompson had five points and six rebounds in the period. The Kings held the Rockets to their lowest scoring quarter of the season and 28% shooting, while the Kings had seven assists on their 10 made baskets.
While the Kings bench scored five points in the first five minutes of the second quarter, the Rockets weren’t able to take advantage, still trailing 31-22 as Gay re-entered the game for Sacramento.
After a three pointer from Patrick Beverley and a Nik Stauskas turnover, the Rockets trailed by six with the ball and five minutes remaining in the quarter. After a defensive stop from the Kings, Stauskas came back down the court and dished a nice pass to Carl Landry for an easy dunk and a Darren Collison bucket would add to the Kings’ lead, re-extending it to double digits.
With boo-birds in full effect every time Jason Terry touched the ball, he finally knocked down a three, on his sixth attempt to quiet the fans. A Donatas Motiejunas bucket cut the lead to five with a minute to play, but a three from Derrick Williams and a pair of layups for the Kings kept the Rockets down 10 at half.
An 8-3 run by the Rockets to start the third, once again, would cut the lead in half.
After a Gay-Beverley heated exchange of pushing, the Kings went on a 10-0 run, with a 65-53 lead on Houston. A pair of free-throws from Harden would follow. Kings turnovers would keep Houston in the game, as the Kings headed to the fourth quarter with a 69-61 lead.
The Rockets, once again, started a period with a run in the fourth. A 16-8 run that would tie the game for the first time. And with just under seven minutes to go, the Rockets earned their first lead, but it was short-lived as McLemore drained a three to give the Kings a one-point lead and a Williams’ alley-oop on a fast-break would take the lead to three as the crowd exploded.
Turnovers and open threes defined the fourth quarter as Houston was 6-9 from beyond the arc and the Kings turned the ball over six times through nine minutes of the fourth. The Kings still held a two-point lead.
The game was up for grabs in a 90-90 tie with under two minutes to play. The Kings took a 95-90 advantage but the Rockets answered with five of their own, including a deep three from Harden. 20 seconds remained and the ball was in the Kings’ court.
Missed shots from Gay and Harden sent the game to overtime.