Sacramento Kings win again, beating Houston Rockets behind big fourth quarter from DeRozan

Jason Anderson, The Sacramento Bee on Jan 17, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points and Domantas Sabonis recorded his league-leading 36th double-double of the season to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 132-127 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

DeRozan scored 26 points in the second half and 16 in the fourth quarter for the Kings (21-20), who improved to 8-2 under interim coach Doug Christie.

Malik Monk scored 26 points. Sabonis had 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.

Jalen Green scored 28 points to lead the Rockets (27-13), who had won five in a row.

The Kings will return to action Sunday when they play host to the Washington Wizards.

Stat leaders

De’Aaron Fox had 19 points and seven assists for Sacramento. Keegan Murray had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 11 rebounds.

Alperen Sengun had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Houston. Amen Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Tari Eason came off the bench to score 16 points.

Injury updates

Kings guards Monk and Devin Carter were both cleared to play about 90 minutes before tipoff. Monk was listed as probable after missing Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to right groin soreness. Carter was questionable because of left shoulder soreness.

Eason was cleared to return after missing the past 13 games with a left lower leg injury. Fred VanVleet (personal), Jabari Smith Jr. (hand) and Jock Landale (personal) were ruled out.

Halftime report

The Kings led 26-25 at the end of the first quarter and staged a 9-0 run to go up 43-36 in the second. They led by as many as 12 before carrying a 61-52 lead into the halftime break.

Sabonis posted a first-half double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Kings shot 54.2% from the field and 42.1% from 3-point range.

Second half

Sacramento extended its lead to 16 on a basket by DeRozan early in the second half, but Houston came back to cut the deficit to three with 1:03 to go in the third quarter.

The Kings staged an 8-0 run to go up 114-105 in the fourth. The Rockets responded with a 10-0 run to take a 115-114 lead on two free throws by Tari Eason with 2:36 remaining.

The Kings reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer by DeRozan. The Rockets got within one on a couple of occasions in the final minutes, but the Kings held on to win after going 9 of 9 at the free-throw line in the final 33 seconds.

Ellis injured

Kings guard Keon Ellis left the game after going down with an injury late in the third quarter. Ellis rolled his right ankle when he stepped on Sabonis’ foot.

Ellis appeared to be in a lot of pain before being helped to his feet. He limped off the floor under his own power and headed to the locker room with members of the team’s medical staff. A short time later, the Kings announced Ellis would not return.

Up next

The Kings will face the worst team in the NBA when they entertain the Wizards on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.

The Wizards (6-33) have lost eight in a row after falling 130-123 to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. They will come to Sacramento on the second night of a back-to-back after opening a six-game road trip against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.