HOUSTON – Terrence Williams said facing his old team provided no extra motivation.
But his performance against the Houston Rockets probably will earn him more playing time with the Kings.
Williams, a 6-foot-6 small forward, came off the bench in the third quarter and played 16 minutes in Sacramento's 113-106 overtime loss Monday night.
The Rockets waived the seldom-used Williams on March 16, and the Kings signed him to a 10-day contract Wednesday. In both of his appearances with Sacramento, he has been on the court at crunch time.
"I don't care where we were playing (Monday)," Williams said. "I wasn't going to let the last game happen again. I just tried to be focused and be ready to play basketball."
Williams committed a turnover with 15.6 seconds left in the Kings' 111-108 loss at Golden State on Saturday. On Monday, he had 10 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Coach Keith Smart said Williams is "moving up the charts" and earning the right to play earlier in games.
"He's playing well. He's playing within himself," Smart said. "He's shown he can make some plays and be a playmaker defensively, so he's moving at the right pace for our basketball team."
Williams likely will stay for the rest of the season.
"There's some things he can do that no one on our team can do," Smart said. "So we've just got to keep getting him familiar with what we do all the way around."
Williams said regardless of when Smart uses him, he'll be ready.
"At the end of the day, I'm a basketball player," Williams said. "I'm not studying for an exam. Whatever he needs me to do. If he wants to play me in the fourth quarter, that's showing he has a lot of trust in me."
Still out – Forward Jason Thompson missed his second consecutive game because of a sprained left ankle suffered in the final seconds of the Kings' loss to Utah on Thursday.
Thompson practiced Sunday when the Kings arrived in Houston. He also went through a pregame workout but was held out.
In his last five games, Thompson has averaged 17.6 points and 13.6 rebounds. Donté Greene started in his place for the second game in a row.
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