Confrontation lights fire in De’Aaron Fox as Kings rally to beat Rockets in NBA Cup game
The Kings knew they were going up against a Houston Rockets squad with exceptional size, length and toughness.
The Rockets pushed the Kings around last season. This time, the Kings fought back, finding a way to match Houston’s force and physicality in a game that featured three ties, 11 lead changes, six technical fouls and two ejections.
Domantas Sabonis scored 27 points to lead seven players in double figures, helping the Kings beat the Rockets 120-111 in an NBA Cup in-season tournament game Tuesday before a crowd of 15,019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
“When s--- got going and they got up on in our face or something happened with us to them, we stood our ground like we’re supposed to, but we did it smartly,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “That’s how you compete.”
De’Aaron Fox posted 22 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Kings (10-12), who had lost six of seven and seven of their last nine to fall to 12th in the Western Conference. DeMar DeRozan had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Malik Monk recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 assists in his second start for Sacramento. Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter scored 13 points apiece while emerging two-way player Isaac Jones added 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
Jalen Green scored 28 points to lead the Rockets (15-7), who had won 10 of 12 to move within a half-game of the No. 1 seed in the West. Alperen Sengun had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Tari Eason came off the bench to post 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Sengun were ejected as frustrations boiled over with the Kings leading by 14 in the final two minutes. Udoka could be facing a fine for aggressively pursuing referee John Goble and publicly criticizing officials after the game.
“Blatant missed calls right in front of you,” Udoka said. “You’re calling ticky-tack moving screens and little s--- like that and then you don’t want to call the obvious ones right in front of you, so that was it. Alpy got fouled a few times on that drive, on the layup, and they didn’t want to call it. I told him get some f---ing glasses, open your eyes.”
The Rockets fell to 3-1 in NBA Cup pool play, but they had already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals. They will play host to the Golden State Warriors in the knockout round on Dec. 11.
The Kings improved to 1-3 in pool play, but they did not qualify for the quarterfinals. The NBA announced two consolation games for the Kings, who will visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 12 and play host to the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 16.
Brown referred to Fox’s postgame message to the team when asked about his team’s level of intensity against the Rockets.
“It’s who we are supposed to be,” Brown said. “It is not about bottling it. That is our standard. Just like I mentioned, we have to compete, and we competed for 48 minutes tonight. Fox said it to our group at the end in the locker room. He said the way we competed, in terms of the physicality that we brought to the table, how hard we played for one another, how we protected one another, covered for one another, and gave up 20 free throws, a hell of a job, and we have to keep that going, because that’s who we are. That’s what (Fox) said.”
The Kings faced a tough task against a Houston team that ranks among the best in the league defensively. The Rockets are No. 2 in the NBA in defensive rating (104.3) and opponent field-goal percentage (.429). They are No. 3 in opponent points per game (106.3) and opponent 3-point percentage (.338).
“The first thing is they’re extremely physical,” Brown said before the game. “The second thing is they’re very, very long. They’re a big team, and then their effort level — on top of their physicality and athleticism — their effort level is at a high, high level 99.9% of the time.”
The Kings got a good look at Houston’s physical style last season when the Rockets went 3-0 to sweep the season series against Sacramento. This one started off the same way.
The Kings went 3 of 12 from the field and 1 of 5 from 3-point range over the first five minutes. They trailed 28-21 after shooting 36% while getting outrebounded 18-8 in the first period.
Sacramento finally showed some fight after Fox and Jabari Smith Jr. had to be separated during a heated exchange in the second quarter. Monk, Smith and Dillon Brooks were whistled for technical fouls as a result of the altercation. That seemed to light a fire in Fox, who scored eight points to fuel an 11-1 run over the final 1:54 as the Kings cut an 11-point deficit to one at the halftime break.
“People don’t talk s--- to me all the time,” Fox said. “ ... You say something to me, come along for the ride.”
The Kings carried that momentum into the second half. They outscored the Rockets 20-7 to start the third quarter, going up 74-62 on a 3-pointer by Murray, who went 3 of 5 from long distance after going 4 of 25 in the previous five games.
The Kings went up by as many as 15 while outscoring the Rockets 42-29 in the third quarter. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Monk gave them a 96-84 lead going into the fourth.
“Defensively, we had a few bad gambles, Udoka said. “Obviously, an 11-1 run to end the half, that let them back in the game. After building a 10-point lead, we took some bad gambles, gave up some 3s, missed assignments. That carried over into the third. I think they were the more physical team and played harder. A lot of loose balls. We missed some easy shots as well. But to give up 42 points in a quarter, that’s not us.”
The Rockets cut the deficit to six on a basket by Fred VanVleet with 8:06 remaining. The Kings regained control following 3-pointers from Huerter and Monk, a series of inside buckets from Sabonis and an alley-oop from DeRozan to Fox.
Kings fans took great joy in waving goodbye to Brooks when he fouled out after Murray took a charge with 4:38 to play.
“He had five fouls and I knew that, so I was just trying to get him out the game,” Murray said.
Fox was asked about how he and his team responded after the game got chippy and the Rockets started chirping in the second quarter.
“I think we responded well,” Fox said. “People don’t usually do it to me for good reason. It wasn’t spoken to after that, though, but as a team we definitely responded well. I think what was bigger was we were able to get that lead and sustain that lead throughout the second half. I think that’s growth.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 10:24 PM.
