All-Star cast of James Harden, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins help Rockets hold off Kings
The Houston Rockets had an All-Star ensemble of James Harden, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, and a crowd of about 4,500 people for their New Year’s Eve encounter with the Kings on Thursday at the Toyota Center.
That was just enough to hold off the Kings, who felt like they let another win get away from them.
Harden finished with 33 points, eight assists and six rebounds, leading the Rockets to a 122-119 victory over the Kings. Wall had 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds for Houston (1-2). Christian Wood added 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Wall committed five turnovers in his first game since December 2018 but showed he is still a dangerous player in this league.
“I haven’t played in 735 days, so me just getting the opportunity to thank God and have the opportunity to work hard, and go out there and compete,” Wall said. “... I thought about it all day. I couldn’t sleep last night and I was thinking about it all day, but when I get between those lines, and once the ball touched my hands, I was fine.”
Harrison Barnes had 24 points and eight rebounds to lead the Kings (3-2), who will play the Rockets again Saturday in Houston. Barnes said the game was lost due to minor mistakes and momentary lapses.
“We look at tonight’s game as a game we feel we should have won.,” Barnes said. “We executed our game plan and it came down to the wire, but when you look at the mistakes that were made, they were mistakes that were easily controllable.”
Richaun Holmes posted 22 points and 13 rebounds, his first double-double of the season. De’Aaron Fox finished with 22 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Buddy Hield had 19 points and five assists.
“We just didn’t get the job done tonight,” Holmes said. “I think that loss kind of stings everybody and we look forward to getting back after it in a couple days.”
Wall, Cousins and Eric Gordon, who came off the bench to score 17, appeared in their first game of the season after completing seven-day quarantines. Wall and Cousins, close friends and former Kentucky teammates, made their Rockets debuts, playing together for the first time in the NBA.
The Kings led 33-32 at the end of the first quarter. They took a 56-52 lead on a 3-pointer by Hield late in the second, but then Harden got hot after being held to one point on 0-of-6 shooting over the first 21 minutes. Harden scored nine points in the final 2:46 to help the Rockets take a 63-59 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Kings missed six of their first seven shots and committed a couple of early turnovers to start the second half. The Rockets quickly opened up a nine-point lead and later went up by 10 on a 3-pointer by Gordon with 3:28 to go.
“We started to get a little selfish again,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “We started to try to do it by ourselves and that caused us to rush the shots and caused us to get some turnovers.”
The Kings finished with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to one going into the fourth. Sacramento tied the game on a basket by Nemanja Bjelica and took a 92-90 lead on a putback by Barnes. The Kings would go up by seven on a couple of occasions before the Rockets battled back to take a 111-110 lead on a 3-pointer by Harden with 3:05 to play.
Houston went up 115-110 on a dunk by Wood with 2:00 remaining. Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton made a clutch 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one with 22.4 seconds to play. Hield and Fox both had open looks with a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but neither could get the shot to fall.
“I think we got some good looks at it,” Fox said. “Neither one went down, but you continue to take steps. I don’t think we finished the game we wanted to.”
Long road to recovery
Wall, a five-time All-Star, had not appeared in a game since Dec. 26, 2018, before heel and Achilles injuries sidelined him for two calendar years.
“I’m happy for him,” Fox said. “What he went through was extremely tough and just knowing the type of guy he is, he persevered through it, but he looked great out there. He hasn’t lost much of a step. He made some big shots when they needed it.”
Cousins, a four-time All-Star who started his career with the Kings, had not appeared in a game since the Golden State Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals. Cousins signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019-20, but he missed the season with a torn ACL before signing with Houston.
Walton was asked about the difficulty of game-planning for a team that would add two new All-Stars.
“It’s difficult,” Walton said. “A lot of the game-planning is built around James and the different options in trying to slow him down, if that’s possible, and then we talk about the other guys from what we know about them. There are some preseason clips with them in it, but you can’t take too much from the preseason. A lot of it tonight will be in-game adjustments.”
Fans allowed at Toyota Center
Spectators are not allowed in most NBA markets due to local health orders, but a limited number of fans were in attendance for Houston’s home opener.
Holmes said he enjoyed having fans in the building.
“I can only speak for myself, but it felt amazing,” Holmes said. “To see fans out there, see some faces in the stands cheering on their team, it was an amazing feeling and I hope it gets back to that way soon.”
Houston is one of the few NBA cities where fans are being permitted under strict COVID-19 protocols. Up to 4,500 were expected at the Toyota Center. Fans were required to answer a series of health questions before entering the arena and wear masks at all times except when eating or drinking.
Upcoming Kings schedule
Jan. 2 at Houston Rockets, 2 p.m.
Jan. 4 at Golden State Warriors, 7 p.m.
Jan. 6 vs. Chicago Bulls, 7 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Toronto Raptors, 7 p.m.
Jan. 9 vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 7 p.m.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — DaQuan Jeffries (ankle).
Rockets: OUT — Chris Clemons (Achilles); Mason Jones (ankle); Kenyon Martin Jr. (self isolating); Ben McLemore (self isolating).
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 7:15 PM.
