Kings top Rockets to move up in Western Conference despite losing star player to injury
The Sacramento Kings extended their winning streak to three games and moved up two spots in the Western Conference with a hard-fought victory over the Houston Rockets despite losing All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis to a hamstring injury.
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points to help the Kings sweep the season series with a 113-103 victory over the Rockets on Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston.
Zach Lavine added 20 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Kings (31-28), who jumped from 10th to eighth in the Western Conference standings. Sacramento is just a half-game behind the Golden State Warriors for seventh and one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 6 seed.
Alperen Sengun had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Rockets (37-23).
The Kings will be back in action Monday when they visit the Dallas Mavericks.
Stat leaders
Malik Monk had 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting with five rebounds and four assists for Sacramento.
Jonas Valanciunas was outstanding in the absence of Sabonis, posting 15 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots. Keon Ellis had 12 points, five rebounds and a career-high five steals.
Jalen Green scored 24 points for Houston. Tari Eason scored 14 points and Dillon Brooks added 12.
Sabonis’ injury
Sabonis grabbed his left hamstring while running the floor just over a minute into the game. Interim Kings coach Doug Christie immediately called timeout as Sabonis limped off the floor.
Sabonis headed to the locker room to seek treatment from the team’s medical staff. A short time later, the Kings announced Sabonis would not return.
Halftime report
The Kings raced out to a 19-3 lead after staging an early 15-0 run despite the loss of Sabonis. The Rockets responded with a 12-1 run to close the gap, but the Kings led 25-21 at the end of the first quarter and 63-59 at the halftime break.
Sacramento shot 53.2% from the field in the first half while holding Houston to 44.9%. LaVine led the way with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists. Valanciunas was outstanding in the absence of Sabonis, scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting with eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
Second half
Tempers flared when DeRozan and Brooks exchanged words early in the second half. Brooks shoved DeRozan after they went nose-to-nose. Both players were whistled for technical fouls.
The Kings opened up an eight-point lead early in the third quarter. The Rockets would cut the deficit to two, but the Kings carried an 89-82 lead into the fourth.
The Kings went up by 12 early in the fourth quarter. The Rockets cut the deficit to eight on a couple of occasions, but they never got any closer.
Up next
The Kings will face the Mavericks in the third game of a four-game road trip Monday at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The Kings are 2-0 against the Mavericks this season. They picked up a 110-100 victory on Dec. 30 in Sacramento and a 129-128 overtime win Feb. 10 in Dallas.
This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM.
