Houston Rockets Obliterate Sacramento Kings En Route to Third Straight Win

The win gave the Rockets their third consecutive victory after starting the season 0-3. Houston also found redemption by sweeping the Kings during its two-game mini-series.

HOUSTON — Fred VanVleet's buzzer-beating triple to end the first half was a small sample size of the Houston Rockets hot shooting Monday night. They shot 57.3 percent from the field and 48.4 percent from behind the arc en route to a 122-97 blowout victory over the Sacramento Kings inside the Toyota Center.

The win gave the Rockets their third consecutive victory after starting the season 0-3. Houston also found redemption by sweeping the Kings during its two-game mini-series. 

Outside of a two-point loss on Feb. 8, the Kings obliterated the Rockets during the 2022-23 season. They allowed Sacramento to score an average of 129.2 points while losing by a margin of 21.6.

VanVleet finished with 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. But no player embodied the Rockets' hot shooting like Jalen Green. After a below-average offensive performance in Saturday's win, Green scored a team-best 23 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, 3-for-5 from behind the arc.

He found his offensive rhythm early by scoring 19 of 23 points during the first half. And due to Green's production, Houston held a 67-42 lead at the half.

As great of a performance Green gave during the first 24 minutes, Jabari Smith Jr. set an early tone for the Rockets. With a triple and fadeaway basket, Smith scored the first five points for the Rockets. He finished with 13 points and four rebounds in the win. 

Alperen Sengun had a career performance with a dozen assists. He also added 17 points and eight rebounds in the win.

The Kings played their second straight game without All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox. As a result, Kevin Huerter led Sacramento with 13 points. Domantas Sabonis had another rough outing in Houston. He finished with eight points, eight rebounds and five assists in the loss.

Rockets guard Fred VanVleet handles the ball against Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) during the second quarter at Toyota Center / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Could Tari Eason make his season debut vs. the Lakers?:

Tari Eason is close to making his season debut, which could come Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Coach Ime Udoka announced that Eason had participated in some on-court workouts with the team during shootaround and will practice on Tuesday.

Eason sustained a stress reaction in his left leg during the Rockets' preseason victory against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 10.

Up Next:

The Rockets will continue their seven-game homestand Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. They will then welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to Houston for the first In-Season Tournament game on Friday. Tip-off between the Rockets and Lakers is slated for 7 p.m. CDT inside the Toyota Center.