The Sacramento Kings won a hard-fought, scrappy game at home against the Houston Rockets last night. In overtime, Dennis Schroder scored nine of the Kings' 13 points, which included the game-winning three-point shot. It proves how clutch a player he can be off the bench.
When the Kings first brought Schroder in as a point guard, fans were unsure what to expect from the NBA veteran and FIBA legend. His NBA career has been solid, but nothing spectacular. And this was a team that had just spent several years with one of the best point guards in the league at the helm.
Schroder gave it everything he had, but he just couldn't find a rhythm as the starting point guard for Sacramento. The Kings made a change that sent Schroder to the bench and started the icon himself, Russell Westbrook. It was the right move for everyone involved without question.
Since that change was made, Schroder has become a consistent and reliable scorer off the bench. On top of that, he's actually a better point guard and is doing a much better job of facilitating the offense. That definitely showed last night against a tough Houston team.
The Kings pick up a much needed win
Facing off against a Rockets team led by Kevin Durant and playing great basketball was a tall order. But the Kings fought hard on offense and defense, and picked up the OT win. Westbrook stepped up in the dying seconds of the game and tied it up off a pass from Schroder.
In OT itself, Schroder scored nine of the Kings' 13 points. That included the game-winning three-point shot that sealed the deal. He finished with 24 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds, a career-defining clutch performance that gave the Kings possibly their most needed win of the season.
The Kings are dead last in the Western Conference, behind the Pelicans and the Clippers. If they are going to climb out of this hole, they need every win they can get. That means players like Dennis Schroder stepping up when the moment calls for it.
This was only the Kings' fourth win at home this season, and the fans definitely needed to see it. While the entire team played well, it's hard to deny the fact that Schroder was the hero of this game and has come a long way from his trials and tribulations at the Kings' starting point guard.